Reviewing Natuzzi (NYSE:NTZ) & MasterBrand (NYSE:MBC)

MasterBrand (NYSE:MBC) and Natuzzi (NYSE:NTZ) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.3% of MasterBrand shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.1% of Natuzzi shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of MasterBrand shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Natuzzi shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares MasterBrand and Natuzzi’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MasterBrand	3.37%	11.88%	5.28%
Natuzzi	-5.66%	-29.05%	-5.45%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MasterBrand and Natuzzi”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MasterBrand	$2.70 billion	0.63	$125.90 million	$0.72	18.71
Natuzzi	$312.40 million	0.14	-$16.39 million	N/A	N/A

MasterBrand has higher revenue and earnings than Natuzzi.

Volatility & Risk

MasterBrand has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Natuzzi has a beta of 0.14, suggesting that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for MasterBrand and Natuzzi, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MasterBrand	1	0	1	0	2.00
Natuzzi	0	0	0	0	0.00

MasterBrand presently has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.36%. Given MasterBrand’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe MasterBrand is more favorable than Natuzzi.

Summary

MasterBrand beats Natuzzi on 12 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MasterBrand

MasterBrand, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of residential cabinets in the United States and Canada. The company offers a range of residential cabinetry products for the kitchen, bathroom, and other parts of the home. It sells its products to remodeling and new construction markets through dealers, retailers, and builders. The company was formerly known as United Cabinet Incorporated. MasterBrand, Inc. was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Beachwood, Ohio.

About Natuzzi

Natuzzi S.p.A. engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of leather and fabric upholstered furniture through its own and franchised stores in the United States, Italy, China, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Israel, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company offers stationary furniture, such as sofas, loveseats, and armchairs; sectional furniture; motion furniture; sofa beds; occasional chairs, including recliners and massage chairs; home furnishing accessories, including coffee tables, lamps, rugs, and wall units; and home accessories, which include vases, mirrors, magazines racks, trays, and decorative objects. It also sells polyurethane foam and leather processing by-products. It operates Natuzzi Italia stores; Divani&Divani by Natuzzi stores; and Natuzzi Editions stores. The company was formerly known as Industrie Natuzzi S.p.A. and changed its name to Natuzzi S.p.A. in June 2002. Natuzzi S.p.A. was incorporated in 1959 and is headquartered in Santeramo In Colle, Italy.