Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA – Get Free Report) and Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED – Get Free Report) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
50.8% of Central Garden & Pet shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.5% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are held by institutional investors. 20.3% of Central Garden & Pet shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
Central Garden & Pet has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Barnes & Noble Education has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Central Garden & Pet | $3.09 billion | 0.69 | $162.84 million | $2.45 | 13.88 |
| Barnes & Noble Education | $1.61 billion | 0.23 | -$65.82 million | ($0.32) | -34.39 |
Central Garden & Pet has higher revenue and earnings than Barnes & Noble Education. Barnes & Noble Education is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Central Garden & Pet, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Central Garden & Pet and Barnes & Noble Education’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Central Garden & Pet | 5.04% | 10.99% | 4.75% |
| Barnes & Noble Education | -0.57% | -20.37% | -5.70% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Central Garden & Pet and Barnes & Noble Education, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Central Garden & Pet | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2.43 |
| Barnes & Noble Education | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Central Garden & Pet currently has a consensus target price of $41.75, suggesting a potential upside of 22.79%. Given Central Garden & Pet’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Central Garden & Pet is more favorable than Barnes & Noble Education.
Summary
Central Garden & Pet beats Barnes & Noble Education on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Central Garden & Pet
Central Garden & Pet Co. engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on dog and cat supplies such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management and training pads, supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles and pet birds including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish, and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions. The Garden segment includes lawn and garden consumables such as grass, vegetable, flower and herb seed, wild bird feed, bird houses and other birding accessories, weed, grass, and other herbicides, insecticide and pesticide products, fertilizers, and live plants. The company was founded by William E. Brown in 1980 and is headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA.
About Barnes & Noble Education
Barnes and Noble Education, Inc. engages in the management and operation of bookstore chains in universities. It operates through the Retail and Wholesale segments. The Retail segment operates college, university, and K-12 school bookstores, physical bookstores, and virtual bookstores. The Wholesale segment sells and distributes new and used textbooks to physical bookstores. The company was founded by Leonard S, Riggio in 1965 and is headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ.
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