Critical Analysis: Sturm, Ruger & (NYSE:RGR) vs. Acushnet Holdings Corp. (GOLF)

Sturm, Ruger & (NYSE: RGR) and Acushnet Holdings Corp. (NYSE:GOLF) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, profitabiliy, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Sturm, Ruger & and Acushnet Holdings Corp., as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sturm, Ruger &	0	2	0	0	2.00
Acushnet Holdings Corp.	0	7	7	0	2.50

Sturm, Ruger & currently has a consensus target price of $53.50, suggesting a potential upside of 6.57%. Acushnet Holdings Corp. has a consensus target price of $21.61, suggesting a potential upside of 26.53%. Given Acushnet Holdings Corp.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Acushnet Holdings Corp. is more favorable than Sturm, Ruger &.

Profitability

This table compares Sturm, Ruger & and Acushnet Holdings Corp.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sturm, Ruger &	11.74%	29.70%	22.42%
Acushnet Holdings Corp.	N/A	6.88%	2.03%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sturm, Ruger & and Acushnet Holdings Corp.’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sturm, Ruger &	$622.49 million	1.43	$149.13 million	$3.92	12.81
Acushnet Holdings Corp.	$1.57 billion	0.81	$191.45 million	N/A	N/A

Acushnet Holdings Corp. has higher revenue and earnings than Sturm, Ruger &.

Dividends

Sturm, Ruger & pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Acushnet Holdings Corp. pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sturm, Ruger & pays out 49.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.3% of Sturm, Ruger & shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.2% of Acushnet Holdings Corp. shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of Sturm, Ruger & shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 54.0% of Acushnet Holdings Corp. shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Acushnet Holdings Corp. beats Sturm, Ruger & on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sturm, Ruger &

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. is engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of firearms to domestic customers. The Company operates through two segments: firearms and castings. The firearms segment manufactures and sells rifles, pistols, and revolvers principally to a range of federally licensed, independent wholesale distributors primarily located in the United States. The castings segment manufactures and sells steel investment castings and metal injection molding (MIM) parts. The Company’s design and manufacturing operations are located in the United States. The Company primarily offers products in three industry product categories: rifles, pistols, and revolvers. The Company’s firearms are sold through independent wholesale distributors, principally to the commercial sporting market. The Company manufactures firearm products under the Ruger name. The Company also manufactures and sells accessories and replacement parts for its firearms.

About Acushnet Holdings Corp.

Acushnet Holdings Corp. is engaged in the design, development, manufacture and distribution of golf products. The Company is engaged in various product categories, such as golf clubs, wedges, putters, golf gloves, golf gear and golf wear. The Company operates in four segments: Titleist Golf Balls, Titleist Golf Clubs, Titleist Golf Gear and FootJoy Golf Wear. The company’s Titleist golf ball segment is engaged in designing and manufacturing a golf ball. It sells Titleist Pro V1. The Company also designs, manufactures and sells other golf balls under the Titleist brand, such as NXT Tour, Velocity and DT TruSoft, as well as under the Pinnacle brand. The Company designs, assembles and sells golf clubs (drivers, fairways, hybrids and irons) under the Titleist brand, wedges under the Vokey Design brand, and putters under the Scotty Cameron brand. Titleist golf clubs, Vokey Design wedges and Scotty Cameron putters are used by the players.