Children’s Place (NASDAQ:PLCE) and J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) Financial Comparison
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyChildren’s Place (NASDAQ:PLCE – Get Free Report) and J.Jill (NYSE:JILL – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Children’s Place and J.Jill”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Children’s Place | $1.21 billion | 0.05 | -$88.26 million | ($4.84) | -0.58 |
| J.Jill | $596.55 million | 0.50 | $27.89 million | $1.37 | 14.60 |
J.Jill has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Children’s Place. Children’s Place is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than J.Jill, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Children’s Place and J.Jill, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Children’s Place | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
| J.Jill | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.29 |
Children’s Place presently has a consensus price target of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 42.35%. J.Jill has a consensus price target of $17.50, suggesting a potential downside of 12.50%. Given Children’s Place’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Children’s Place is more favorable than J.Jill.
Profitability
This table compares Children’s Place and J.Jill’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Children’s Place | -9.09% | N/A | -12.53% |
| J.Jill | 3.56% | 24.44% | 6.81% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
40.7% of J.Jill shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Children’s Place shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of J.Jill shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk & Volatility
Children’s Place has a beta of 1.97, suggesting that its stock price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J.Jill has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
J.Jill beats Children’s Place on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Children’s Place
The Children’s Place, Inc. engages in the provision of apparel, footwear, accessories, and other items for children. The firm also designs contracts to manufacture and sell fashionable and value-priced merchandise under the brand names of The Children’s Place, Baby Place, and Gymboree. It operates through The Children’s Place U.S. and The Children’s Place International segments. The Children’s Place U.S. segment refers to the company’s U.S. and Puerto Rico-based stores and revenue from its U.S. based wholesale business. The Children’s Place International segment is involved in the Canadian-based stores, revenue from the company’s Canadian-based wholesale business, as well as revenue from international franchisees. The company was founded by David Pulver and Clinton A. Clark in 1969 and is headquartered in Secaucus, NJ.
About J.Jill
J.Jill, Inc. operates as an omnichannel retailer for women's apparel under the J.Jill brand in the United States. It offers apparel, footwear, and accessories, including scarves and jewelry. The company markets its products through retail stores, website, and catalogs. J.Jill, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.