Shoe Stocks: Try them on for size

The famous athletic shoe company, Nike (NKE), just reported an increase of over 50% in net income, so investors are starting to look at footwear companies. Here's some interesting trivia. Did you know that the earliest known shoe is from around 7,000 BC. And you would never guess where the shoe was found: California of all places. However, there is evidence that shoes were probably used many thousands of years prior to that time. Here are some footwear stocks that you might want to try on. All have market caps of about one billion dollars or more.

Nike Inc. (NKE) is the largest footwear manufacturer in the country by market cap. Nike's shoes include include running shoes, basketball shoes, soccer shoes, training shoes, urban shoes, and children's shoes. The P/E is 19.76, the PEG is 1.3, and the stock pays a yield of 1.3%.

CROCS Inc. (CROX) is the company that makes the weird looking, but comfortable shoes that are made out of a specialty resin, that comes in many colors. The stock has a P/E of 44.12 and a PEG of 1.08.

Wolverine World Wide Inc. (WWW) makes and sells all kinds of shoes such as casual shoes, dress shoes, outdoor shoes, boots, uniform shoes, work shoes, slippers, and moccasins. Their brands include Harley-Davidson, Hush Puppies, HyTest, Merrell, and Patagonia. The P/E is 17.74, the PEG is 1.27, and the stock pays a yield of 1.3%. [Doesn't this stock have a great stock symbol?]

Deckers Outdoor Corp. (DECK) manufactures and markets outdoor and casual footwear including boots, sandals, and slippers. The P/E is 40.3 and the PEG is 1.24.

Iconix Brand Group Inc. (ICON) owns Bright Star Footwear, Inc. The P/E is 28.13 and the PEG is 1.08.

Timberland Co. (TBL) makes all kinds of shoes including various types of boots, and men's and women's casual shoes and sandals. The P/E is 15.55 and the PEG is 1.5.

Skechers USA Inc. (SKX) designs and sells casual shoes, dress casual shoes, comfort shoes, outdoor shoes, jogging shoes, sport shoes, and sport sandals. The P/E is 13.2 and the PEG is 0.82.

Brown Shoe Co. Inc. (BWS) makes men's, women's, and children's casual, athletic, and dress shoes. The P/E is 15.32, the PEG is 0.53, and the stock pays a yield of 1.3%.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Fred Fuld at Stockerblog.com