Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) and Thor Industries (NYSE:THO) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitabiliy, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings and valuation.
Dividends
Brunswick Corporation pays an annual dividend of $0.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Thor Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Brunswick Corporation pays out 22.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Thor Industries pays out 20.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Brunswick Corporation has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Thor Industries has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Thor Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Volatility and Risk
Brunswick Corporation has a beta of 1.84, meaning that its stock price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Thor Industries has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Brunswick Corporation and Thor Industries’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Brunswick Corporation | $4.58 billion | 1.22 | $589.80 million | $3.00 | 20.88 |
| Thor Industries | $6.60 billion | 0.83 | $598.38 million | $6.40 | 16.25 |
Thor Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Brunswick Corporation. Thor Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brunswick Corporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
99.0% of Brunswick Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.6% of Thor Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Brunswick Corporation shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of Thor Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Brunswick Corporation and Thor Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Brunswick Corporation | 6.03% | 23.15% | 10.18% |
| Thor Industries | 5.11% | 24.83% | 13.87% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Brunswick Corporation and Thor Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Brunswick Corporation | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2.73 |
| Thor Industries | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2.64 |
Brunswick Corporation presently has a consensus price target of $66.56, suggesting a potential upside of 6.23%. Thor Industries has a consensus price target of $106.89, suggesting a potential upside of 2.80%. Given Brunswick Corporation’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Brunswick Corporation is more favorable than Thor Industries.
Summary
Thor Industries beats Brunswick Corporation on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
Brunswick Corporation Company Profile
Brunswick Corporation is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of recreation products. The Company operates through three segments: Marine Engine, Boat and Fitness. The Company’s product includes marine engines, boats, fitness equipment and active recreation products. The Company’s engine-related products include outboard, sterndrive and inboard engines; trolling motors; propellers; engine control systems; and marine parts and accessories. Its boat offerings include: fiberglass pleasure boats; yachts and sport yachts; sport cruisers and sport boats; offshore fishing boats; aluminum and fiberglass fishing boats; pontoon boats; utility boats; deck boats; inflatable boats; and heavy-gauge aluminum boats. Its fitness products include cardiovascular and strength training equipment for both the commercial and consumer markets. It also sells products for active aging, rehabilitation, productive well-being, a complete line of billiards tables and other game room tables and accessories.
Thor Industries Company Profile
Thor Industries, Inc. manufactures a range of recreational vehicles (RVs) in the United States and sells those vehicles primarily in the United States and Canada. The Company’s segments include towable recreational vehicles, which consists of the operations of Airstream, Inc. (Airstream) (towable); Heartland Recreational Vehicles, LLC (Heartland) (including Bison Coach, LLC (Bison), Cruiser RV, LLC (CRV) and DRV, LLC (DRV)); Jayco, Corp. (Jayco) (including Jayco towable, Starcraft and Highland Ridge), Keystone RV Company (Keystone) (including CrossRoads and Dutchmen) and K.Z., Inc. (KZ) (including Livin’ Lite RV, Inc. (Livin’ Lite)); motorized recreational vehicles, which consists of the operations of Airstream (motorized), Jayco (including Jayco motorized and Entegra Coach) and Thor Motor Coach, Inc. (Thor Motor Coach), and Other, which includes the operations of its subsidiary, Postle Operating, LLC (Postle).
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