High Tide (NASDAQ:HITI) vs. Cato (NYSE:CATO) Head-To-Head Comparison

High Tide (NASDAQ:HITI) and Cato (NYSE:CATO) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares High Tide and Cato’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
High Tide	-4.73%	5.13%	1.55%
Cato	-0.87%	-3.39%	-1.29%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares High Tide and Cato”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
High Tide	$425.10 million	0.59	-$36.23 million	($0.23)	-12.13
Cato	$653.81 million	0.07	-$5.91 million	($0.30)	-8.19

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

4.5% of High Tide shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.1% of Cato shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.4% of High Tide shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.3% of Cato shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for High Tide and Cato, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
High Tide	1	0	3	0	2.50
Cato	1	0	0	0	1.00

High Tide currently has a consensus price target of $5.62, indicating a potential upside of 101.61%. Given High Tide’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe High Tide is more favorable than Cato.

Volatility and Risk

High Tide has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cato has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

High Tide beats Cato on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About High Tide

High Tide Inc. engages in the cannabis retail business in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Retail and Wholesale segments. It operates licensed retail cannabis stores; and provides data analytics services. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes consumption accessories. Further, it sells its products through online sales via e-commerce platform. The company offers its products under the Daily High Club, DankStop, FABCBD, GC, Nuleaf, Smoke Cartel, and Blessed CBD brands. The company was formerly known as High Tide Ventures Inc. and changed its name to High Tide Inc. in October 2018. High Tide Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Cato

The Cato Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of fashion apparel and accessories primarily in the southeastern United States. It operates through two segments, Retail and Credit. The company's stores and e-commerce websites offer a range of apparel and accessories, including dressy, career, and casual sportswear; and dresses, coats, shoes, lingerie, costume jewelry, and handbags, as well as men's wear, and lines for kids and infants. It operates its stores and e-commerce websites under the Cato, Cato Fashions, Cato Plus, It's Fashion, It's Fashion Metro, and Versona names. It also provides credit card services to its customers, as well as layaway plans for customers. The Cato Corporation was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.