Pool (NASDAQ:POOL) and ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) are both large-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Pool and ViacomCBS, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Pool | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2.63 |
| ViacomCBS | 7 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1.90 |
Pool presently has a consensus target price of $299.75, suggesting a potential downside of 10.46%. ViacomCBS has a consensus target price of $41.5455, suggesting a potential downside of 35.58%. Given Pool's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Pool is more favorable than ViacomCBS.
Profitability
This table compares Pool and ViacomCBS's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Pool | 8.85% | 70.48% | 19.98% |
| ViacomCBS | 5.22% | 18.58% | 5.23% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
90.6% of Pool shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.5% of ViacomCBS shares are held by institutional investors. 4.0% of Pool shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of ViacomCBS shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
Pool pays an annual dividend of $2.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. ViacomCBS pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Pool pays out 39.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ViacomCBS pays out 19.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Pool has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and ViacomCBS has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. ViacomCBS is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Pool and ViacomCBS's revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Pool | $3.20 billion | 4.20 | $261.58 million | $5.83 | 57.42 |
| ViacomCBS | $27.81 billion | 1.43 | $3.31 billion | $5.01 | 12.87 |
ViacomCBS has higher revenue and earnings than Pool. ViacomCBS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pool, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Pool has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ViacomCBS has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its stock price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Pool beats ViacomCBS on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
