Party City Holdco (NYSE: PRTY) and Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, profitabiliy, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.
Profitability
This table compares Party City Holdco and Barnes & Noble Education’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Party City Holdco | 4.92% | 13.81% | 3.95% |
| Barnes & Noble Education | 0.29% | 1.15% | 0.58% |
Risk and Volatility
Party City Holdco has a beta of 2.76, indicating that its stock price is 176% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Barnes & Noble Education has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
68.6% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Party City Holdco shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are owned 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.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Party City Holdco and Barnes & Noble Education’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Party City Holdco | $2.30 billion | 0.73 | $361.82 million | $0.94 | 15.00 |
| Barnes & Noble Education | $1.87 billion | 0.18 | $78.29 million | $0.11 | 67.46 |
Party City Holdco has higher revenue and earnings than Barnes & Noble Education. Party City Holdco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Barnes & Noble Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Party City Holdco and Barnes & Noble Education, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Party City Holdco | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Barnes & Noble Education | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Party City Holdco presently has a consensus target price of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 27.66%. Barnes & Noble Education has a consensus target price of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 88.68%. Given Barnes & Noble Education’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Barnes & Noble Education is more favorable than Party City Holdco.
Summary
Party City Holdco beats Barnes & Noble Education on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Party City Holdco
Party City Holdco Inc. is a holding company with no operating assets or operations. As of December 31, 2016, the Company owned PC Nextco Holdings, LLC (PC Nextco), which owned PC Intermediate Holdings, Inc. (PC Intermediate). As of December 31, 2016, PC Intermediate owned Party City Holdings Inc. (PCHI). PCHI or its direct or indirect subsidiaries conduct all of its operating businesses. The Company operates through two segments: Retail and Wholesale. Its retail operations generate revenue primarily through the sale of its Amscan, Designware, Anagram and Costumes USA party supplies through its Party City stores, Halloween City stores and PartyCity.com. Its wholesale revenues are generated from the sale of party goods for all occasions, including paper and plastic tableware, accessories and novelties, costumes, metallic and latex balloons and stationery.
About Barnes & Noble Education
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. is a contract operator of bookstores on college and university campuses across the United States and a provider of digital education services. The Company offers a support system, and a retail and digital learning experience for students. Through its subsidiary, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers, LLC, the Company operates approximately 750 campus bookstores and the school-branded e-commerce sites for each store, serving over five million college students and their faculty. The Company offers a set of products and services to help students, faculty and administrators achieve their shared educational and social goals. Its suite of product offerings includes Textbook and Course Material Sales, Textbook and Course Material Rentals, General Merchandise, Trade, Digital Education and Brand Partnerships. The Company also offers other merchandise, such as laptops and other technology products, notebooks, backpacks, school and dormitory supplies and related items.
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