Duluth (NASDAQ:DLTH) versus Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FORD) Head-To-Head Contrast

Duluth (NASDAQ:DLTH) and Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FORD) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Duluth and Forward Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Duluth	0	1	0	0	2.00
Forward Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00

Duluth currently has a consensus target price of $2.75, indicating a potential upside of 19.57%. Given Duluth’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Duluth is more favorable than Forward Industries.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

24.4% of Duluth shares are held by institutional investors. 42.9% of Duluth shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Forward Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Duluth and Forward Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Duluth	-8.68%	-14.31%	-5.48%
Forward Industries	-11.56%	-1,557.80%	-24.86%

Risk & Volatility

Duluth has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Forward Industries has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Duluth and Forward Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Duluth	$612.65 million	0.14	-$43.67 million	($1.58)	-1.46
Forward Industries	$30.19 million	0.50	-$1.95 million	N/A	N/A

Forward Industries has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Duluth.

Summary

Duluth beats Forward Industries on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Duluth

Duluth Holdings Inc. sells casual wear, workwear, and accessories for men and women under the Duluth Trading brand in the United States. It provides shirts, pants, underwear, tanks, outerwear, footwear, accessories, and hard goods. The company offers its products under various trademarks, trade names, and service marks, including Alaskan Hardgear, Armachillo, Ballroom, Bucket Master, Cab Commander, Crouch Gusset, Dry on the Fly, Duluth Trading Co, Duluthflex, Fire Hose, Longtail T, No-Yank, No Polo Shirt, Wild Boar Mocs, and Buck Naked. Duluth Holdings Inc. markets its products through its Website, catalogs, and retail stores. As of May 17, 2018, it operated 36 retail stores. The company was formerly known as GEMPLER'S, Inc. Duluth Holdings Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Belleville, Wisconsin.

About Forward Industries

Forward Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sources, markets, and distributes carry and protective solutions. The company operates in two segments: OEM Distribution and Design. The OEM Distribution segment sources and distributes carrying cases and other accessories for medical monitoring and diagnostic kits; and various other portable electronic and non-electronic products, such as sporting and recreational products, bar code scanners, GPS location devices, tablets, and firearms. The Design segment provides hardware and software product design and engineering services. The company sells its products to original equipment manufacturers in the United States, China, Germany, Poland, and internationally. Forward Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1961 and is based in Hauppauge, New York.