Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) and The Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.
Profitability
This table compares Helen of Troy and The Boston Beer's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Helen of Troy | 11.25% | 24.39% | 14.29% |
| The Boston Beer | 10.77% | 20.36% | 13.84% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
98.1% of Helen of Troy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.8% of The Boston Beer shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Helen of Troy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 29.1% of The Boston Beer shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility & Risk
Helen of Troy has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Boston Beer has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Helen of Troy and The Boston Beer, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Helen of Troy | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.40 |
| The Boston Beer | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2.50 |
Helen of Troy currently has a consensus target price of $240.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.34%. The Boston Beer has a consensus target price of $1,048.50, suggesting a potential downside of 3.66%. Given Helen of Troy's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Helen of Troy is more favorable than The Boston Beer.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Helen of Troy and The Boston Beer's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Helen of Troy | $1.71 billion | 3.22 | $152.33 million | $8.47 | 26.65 |
| The Boston Beer | $1.25 billion | 10.68 | $110.04 million | $9.17 | 118.68 |
Helen of Troy has higher revenue and earnings than The Boston Beer. Helen of Troy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Boston Beer, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Helen of Troy beats The Boston Beer on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
