Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) and Thor Industries (NYSE:THO) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitabiliy and analyst recommendations.
Dividends
Brunswick Corporation pays an annual dividend of $0.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Thor Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Brunswick Corporation pays out 21.0% 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 increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Thor Industries has increased 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.
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 | 6.13% | 23.35% | 10.44% |
| Thor Industries | 5.11% | 24.83% | 13.87% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations 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 currently has a consensus target price of $65.30, indicating a potential upside of 16.67%. Thor Industries has a consensus target price of $106.89, indicating a potential upside of 2.11%. Given Brunswick Corporation’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Brunswick Corporation is more favorable than Thor Industries.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
99.7% of Brunswick Corporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.4% of Thor Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Brunswick Corporation shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of Thor Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
Brunswick Corporation has a beta of 1.81, meaning that its share price is 81% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Thor Industries has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Brunswick Corporation and Thor Industries’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Brunswick Corporation | $4.69 billion | 1.07 | $602.40 million | $3.15 | 17.77 |
| Thor Industries | $6.60 billion | 0.83 | $598.38 million | $6.40 | 16.36 |
Brunswick Corporation has higher revenue, but lower earnings than Thor Industries. 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.
Summary
Thor Industries beats Brunswick Corporation on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Brunswick Corporation
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.
About Thor Industries
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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