Head-To-Head Survey: MillerKnoll (NASDAQ:MLKN) and Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT)

MillerKnoll (NASDAQ:MLKN) and Hooker Furnishings (NASDAQ:HOFT) 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 earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MillerKnoll and Hooker Furnishings”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MillerKnoll	$3.67 billion	0.37	$82.30 million	$0.42	47.19
Hooker Furnishings	$397.46 million	0.28	-$12.51 million	($1.09)	-9.50

MillerKnoll has higher revenue and earnings than Hooker Furnishings. Hooker Furnishings is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MillerKnoll, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

MillerKnoll pays an annual dividend of $0.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Hooker Furnishings pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.9%. MillerKnoll pays out 178.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Hooker Furnishings pays out -84.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hooker Furnishings has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. Hooker Furnishings is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares MillerKnoll and Hooker Furnishings’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MillerKnoll	-1.01%	10.40%	3.39%
Hooker Furnishings	-2.95%	-3.41%	-2.22%

Risk and Volatility

MillerKnoll has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hooker Furnishings has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for MillerKnoll and Hooker Furnishings, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MillerKnoll	0	1	0	0	2.00
Hooker Furnishings	0	0	0	0	0.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.5% of MillerKnoll shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.6% of Hooker Furnishings shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of MillerKnoll shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Hooker Furnishings shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

MillerKnoll beats Hooker Furnishings on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MillerKnoll

MillerKnoll, Inc. researches, designs, manufactures, and distributes interior furnishings worldwide. It operates through three segments: Americas Contract, International Contract & Specialty, and Global Retail. The company also provides seating products, furniture systems, other freestanding furniture elements, textiles, leather, felt, home furnishings and related services, casegoods, storage products, as well as residential, education, and healthcare furniture solutions. It offers its products under the MillerKnoll, Herman Miller, Herman Miller Circled Symbolic M, Knoll, Maharam, Geiger, Design Within Reach, DWR, HAY, NaughtOne, Nemschoff, Aeron, Mirra, Embody, Setu, Sayl, Cosm, Caper, Eames, Knoll, KnollExtra, Knoll Luxe, KnollStudio, KnollTextiles, Edelman Leather, Spinneybeck Leather, Generation by Knoll, Regeneration by Knoll, MultiGeneration by Knoll, Remix, Holly Hunt, Vladimir Kagan, Muuto, Barcelona, and Womb names. The company offers its products through independent contract furniture dealers, direct contract sales, e-commerce websites, and wholesale and retail stores. Its products are used in institutional, health/science, and residential and other environments, and industrial and educational settings, as well as transportation terminals. The company was formerly known as Herman Miller, Inc. and changed its name to MillerKnoll, Inc. in November 2021. MillerKnoll, Inc. was incorporated in 1905 and is headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan.

About Hooker Furnishings

Hooker Furnishings Corporation designs, manufactures, imports, and markets residential household, hospitality, and contract furniture. It operates in three segments: Hooker Branded, Home Meridian, and Domestic Upholstery. The Hooker Branded segment offers design categories, including home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, and bedroom furniture under the Hooker Furniture brand; and imported upholstered furniture under the Hooker Upholstery brand. The Home Meridian segment provides home furnishings under the Accentrics Home brand; a range of bedroom, dining room, accent, display cabinet, home office, and youth furnishings under the Pulaski Furniture and Samuel Lawrence Furniture brands; and imported leather motion upholstery under the Prime Resources International brand. This segment also designs and supplies hotel furnishings for four and five-star hotels under the Samuel Lawrence Hospitality brand name. The Domestic Upholstery segment offers motion and stationary leather furniture under the Bradington-Young brand; chairs, sofas, sectionals, recliners, and a variety of accent upholstery pieces under the HF Custom brand; and upholstered furniture, such as private label sectionals, modulars, sofas, chairs, ottomans, benches, beds, and dining chairs for lifestyle specialty retailers under the Shenandoah Furniture brand. This segment also designs and manufactures outdoor furniture under the Sunset West brand. The company supplies upholstered seating and casegoods to upscale senior living and assisted living facilities through designers, design firms, industry dealers, and distributors under the H Contract brand; and interior designer products under the Lifestyle Brands name; and lighting, accessories, and home décor products under the BOBO Intriguing Objects brand. It sells home furnishing products through retailers, such as independent furniture stores, department stores, mass merchants, national chains, catalog merchants, interior designers, and e-commerce retailers primarily in North America. Hooker Furnishings Corporation was incorporated in 1924 and is headquartered in Martinsville, Virginia.