Head to Head Contrast: Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) versus Interparfums (NASDAQ:IPAR)

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) and Interparfums (NASDAQ:IPAR) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Barnes & Noble Education and Interparfums”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Barnes & Noble Education	$1.57 billion	0.18	-$63.21 million	($15.50)	-0.54
Interparfums	$1.45 billion	2.58	$164.36 million	$4.99	23.34

Interparfums has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Barnes & Noble Education. Barnes & Noble Education is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Interparfums, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

38.5% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.6% of Interparfums shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 43.7% of Interparfums 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Barnes & Noble Education and Interparfums, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Barnes & Noble Education	0	0	0	0	0.00
Interparfums	0	0	4	0	3.00

Interparfums has a consensus price target of $162.00, suggesting a potential upside of 39.09%. Given Interparfums’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Interparfums is more favorable than Barnes & Noble Education.

Profitability

This table compares Barnes & Noble Education and Interparfums’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Barnes & Noble Education	-4.46%	-2.76%	-0.55%
Interparfums	11.03%	16.45%	11.14%

Volatility and Risk

Barnes & Noble Education has a beta of 1.68, indicating that its stock price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Interparfums has a beta of 1.43, indicating that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Interparfums beats Barnes & Noble Education on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Barnes & Noble Education

Barnes and Noble Education, Inc. engages in the management and operation of bookstore chains in universities. It operates through the Retail and Wholesale segments. The Retail segment operates college, university, and K-12 school bookstores, physical bookstores, and virtual bookstores. The Wholesale segment sells and distributes new and used textbooks to physical bookstores. The company was founded by Leonard S, Riggio in 1965 and is headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ.

About Interparfums

Inter Parfums, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes a range of fragrances and fragrance related products in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, European Based Operations and United States Based Operations. The company offers its fragrance and cosmetic products under the Boucheron, Coach, Jimmy Choo, Karl Lagerfeld, Kate Spade, Lanvin, Moncler, Montblanc, Rochas, S.T. Dupont, Van Cleef & Arpels, Abercrombie & Fitch, Anna Sui, Donna Karan, DKNY, Emanual Ungaro, Ferragamo, Graff, GUESS, Hollister, MCM, Oscar de la Renta, Ungaro, and Roberto Cavalli brands, as well as French Connection, Intimate, and Dunhill, Lacoste names. It sells its products to department stores, perfumeries, specialty stores, duty free shops, and domestic and international wholesalers, and distributors, as well as through e-commerce. The company was formerly known as Jean Philippe Fragrances, Inc. and changed its name to Inter Parfums, Inc. in July 1999. Inter Parfums, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in New York, New York.