Critical Contrast: Restaurant Brands New Zealand (OTCMKTS:RTBRF) versus Carrols Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:TAST)

Carrols Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:TAST) and Restaurant Brands New Zealand (OTCMKTS:RTBRF) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, valuation and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

29.1% of Carrols Restaurant Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.4% of Restaurant Brands New Zealand shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.1% of Carrols Restaurant Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Carrols Restaurant Group and Restaurant Brands New Zealand’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carrols Restaurant Group	$1.73 billion	0.22	-$75.57 million	$0.06	117.50
Restaurant Brands New Zealand	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.22	10.71

Restaurant Brands New Zealand has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Carrols Restaurant Group. Restaurant Brands New Zealand is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carrols Restaurant Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Carrols Restaurant Group and Restaurant Brands New Zealand, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carrols Restaurant Group	0	0	3	0	3.00
Restaurant Brands New Zealand	0	0	0	0	N/A

Carrols Restaurant Group currently has a consensus price target of $9.17, indicating a potential upside of 30.02%. Given Carrols Restaurant Group’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Carrols Restaurant Group is more favorable than Restaurant Brands New Zealand.

Profitability

This table compares Carrols Restaurant Group and Restaurant Brands New Zealand’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carrols Restaurant Group	0.50%	15.04%	1.53%
Restaurant Brands New Zealand	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Carrols Restaurant Group beats Restaurant Brands New Zealand on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Carrols Restaurant Group

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a restaurant company in the United States. The company operates as a Burger King and Popeyes franchisee. The company was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Syracuse, New York.

About Restaurant Brands New Zealand

Restaurant Brands New Zealand Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates quick service and takeaway restaurants in New Zealand, Australia, California, Hawaii, Saipan, and Guam. It operates the KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl's Jr., and Taco Bell brand names. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Penrose, New Zealand.