WW International (NASDAQ:WW) and Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) Critical Analysis

Grand Canyon Education (NASDAQ:LOPE) and WW International (NASDAQ:WW) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Grand Canyon Education and WW International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Grand Canyon Education	0	2	3	0	2.60
WW International	1	2	0	0	1.67

Grand Canyon Education currently has a consensus price target of $161.67, suggesting a potential upside of 8.67%. Given Grand Canyon Education’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Grand Canyon Education is more favorable than WW International.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Grand Canyon Education and WW International”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Grand Canyon Education	$1.11 billion	3.51	$216.17 million	$8.27	17.99
WW International	$710.64 million	0.25	-$112.25 million	($10.13)	-1.74

Grand Canyon Education has higher revenue and earnings than WW International. WW International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Grand Canyon Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Grand Canyon Education has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WW International has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.2% of Grand Canyon Education shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.2% of WW International shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Grand Canyon Education shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of WW International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Grand Canyon Education and WW International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Grand Canyon Education	19.63%	36.62%	26.87%
WW International	-56.84%	N/A	-0.32%

Summary

Grand Canyon Education beats WW International on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Grand Canyon Education

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. provides education services to colleges and universities in the United States. It offers technology services, including learning management system, internal administration, infrastructure, and support services; academic services, such as program and curriculum, faculty and related training and development, class scheduling, and skills and simulation lab sites; and counseling services and support services comprising admission, financial aid, and field experience and other counseling services. The company also offers marketing and communication services that include lead acquisition, digital communications strategy, brand identity, media planning and strategy, video, business intelligence and data science, and market research services; and back-office services consisting of finance and accounting, human resources, audit, and procurement services. In addition, it provides education services to 25 university partners. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About WW International

WW International, Inc. provides weight management products and services worldwide. It offers a range of nutritional, activity, behavioral, and lifestyle tools and approaches products and services. The company also provides various digital subscription products to wellness and weight management business, which provide interactive and personalized resources that allow users to follow its weight management program through its app and web-based platform; and allows members to inspire and support each other by sharing their experiences with other people on weight health journeys. In addition, it licenses its trademarks and other intellectual property in food, beverages, and other relevant consumer products and services, as well as provides publishing services. The company was formerly known as Weight Watchers International, Inc. and changed its name to WW International, Inc. in September 2019. WW International, Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in New York, New York.