Sally Beauty (NYSE:SBH) & MarineMax (NYSE:HZO) Head-To-Head Comparison

Sally Beauty (NYSE:SBH) and MarineMax (NYSE:HZO) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.9% of MarineMax shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Sally Beauty shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of MarineMax shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Sally Beauty has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MarineMax has a beta of 1.58, suggesting that its stock price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Sally Beauty and MarineMax, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sally Beauty	1	2	3	0	2.33
MarineMax	0	0	5	1	3.17

Sally Beauty currently has a consensus target price of $12.70, indicating a potential upside of 41.00%. MarineMax has a consensus target price of $36.50, indicating a potential upside of 39.68%. Given Sally Beauty’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Sally Beauty is more favorable than MarineMax.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Sally Beauty and MarineMax”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sally Beauty	$3.72 billion	0.24	$153.41 million	$1.78	5.06
MarineMax	$2.43 billion	0.23	$38.07 million	$2.45	10.67

Sally Beauty has higher revenue and earnings than MarineMax. Sally Beauty is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MarineMax, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Sally Beauty and MarineMax’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sally Beauty	5.03%	29.48%	6.91%
MarineMax	2.35%	5.01%	1.89%

Summary

MarineMax beats Sally Beauty on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sally Beauty

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies. The company operates through two segments, Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group. The Sally Beauty Supply segment offers beauty products, including hair color and care products, skin and nail care products, styling tools, and other beauty products for retail customers, salons, and salon professionals. This segment also provides products under Wella and L'Oreal brands. The Beauty Systems Group segment offers professional beauty products, such as hair color and care products, skin and nail care products, styling tools, and other beauty items directly to salons and salon professionals through its professional-only stores, e-commerce platforms, and sales force, as well as through franchised stores under the Armstrong McCall store name. This segment also sells products under Paul Mitchell and Wella brands. It operates stores and franchised units in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany. The company distributes its products through full-service/exclusive distributors and open-line distributors. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Denton, Texas.

About MarineMax

MarineMax, Inc. operates as a recreational boat and yacht retailer and superyacht services company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail Operations and Product Manufacturing. The company sells new and used recreational boats, including pleasure and fishing boats, mega-yachts, yachts, sport cruisers, motor yachts, e-power yachts, pontoon boats, ski boats, jet boats, and other recreational boats. It also offers marine parts and accessories comprising marine electronics; dock and anchoring products that include boat fenders, lines, and anchors; boat covers; trailer parts; water sport accessories, which comprise tubes, lines, wakeboards, and skis; engine parts; oils; lubricants; steering and control systems; corrosion control products and service products; high-performance accessories, including propellers and instruments; and a line of boating accessories, such as life jackets, inflatables, and water sports equipment. In addition, the company provides novelty items, such as shirts, caps, and license plates; marine engines and equipment; maintenance, repair, and slip and storage services; and boat or yacht brokerage services, as well as yacht charters and power catamarans. Further, it offers new or used boat finance services; arranges insurance coverage, including boat property, disability, undercoating, gel sealant, fabric protection, trailer tire and wheel protection, and casualty insurance coverage; and manufactures and sells sport yachts and yachts. Additionally, the company operates MarineMax vacations in Tortola and British Virgin Islands. It also markets and sells its products through offsite locations and print catalog. MarineMax, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Clearwater, Florida.