Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) and Lion (OTCMKTS:LIOPF) Head to Head Review

Lion (OTCMKTS:LIOPF) and Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Lion has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grocery Outlet has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.9% of Grocery Outlet shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of Grocery Outlet shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Lion and Grocery Outlet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lion	6.52%	8.28%	5.57%
Grocery Outlet	-8.08%	5.69%	1.86%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lion and Grocery Outlet”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lion	$2.82 billion	1.14	$184.84 million	$0.67	17.18
Grocery Outlet	$4.69 billion	0.18	-$224.91 million	($3.88)	-2.19

Lion has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Grocery Outlet. Grocery Outlet is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lion, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Lion and Grocery Outlet, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lion	0	0	0	0	0.00
Grocery Outlet	2	11	0	0	1.85

Grocery Outlet has a consensus target price of $10.32, indicating a potential upside of 21.45%. Given Grocery Outlet’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Grocery Outlet is more favorable than Lion.

Summary

Lion beats Grocery Outlet on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lion

Lion Corporation manufactures and sells consumer and industrial products in Japan and internationally. It operates through three segments: Consumer Products Business, Industrial Products Business, and Overseas Business. The company provides dental and oral care products, including toothpastes, toothbrushes, dental floss, dental rinses, mouthwashes, periodontitis ointments, and denture products; body care products, such as shampoos and conditioners, hand soaps, sanitizers, wet wipes, body washes, skin and acne care products, antiperspirants and deodorants, hair-nourishment treatments, men's care and toiletries products, and foot care products. It offers antipyretic analgesics, eye drops and eye care products, cold medicines, gargles, cold relief products, topical anti-inflammatory analgesics, antidiarrheal and gastrointestinal medicines, health tonic drinks and vitamin supplements, acne and anti-drowsiness medicines, and dermatologic agents. In addition, the company offers fabric care products, such as laundry detergent, delicate detergent, prewash treatment, stain remover, bleach, and fabric softener; clothing care products; household cleaners; kitchen cleanup products comprises dishwashing detergents and antibacterial and deodorizing products; and food preparation products. Further, it provides health and beauty food products consisting of supplements and health tonic drinks; specialty chemicals, and chemical products, include rubber processing and additive agents, mandrel release agents, fatty acid methyl esters, plant-based electrical insulating oils, concrete admixtures, surfactants, and cosmetics ingredients, as well as electro-conductive carbon black and pressure-sensitive adhesives; pet supplies; and gift and special-order products. The company was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. operates as a retailer of consumables and fresh products sold through independently operated stores in the United States. Its stores offer products in various categories, such as dairy and deli, produce, floral, fresh meat, seafood products, grocery, general merchandise, health and beauty care, frozen food, beer and wine, and ethnic products. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.