Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) versus Natural Health Trends (NASDAQ:NHTC) Head-To-Head Survey

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) and Natural Health Trends (NASDAQ:NHTC) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Spectrum Brands and Natural Health Trends’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spectrum Brands	2.56%	5.27%	2.88%
Natural Health Trends	0.83%	1.09%	0.66%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

10.1% of Natural Health Trends shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of Spectrum Brands shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.3% of Natural Health Trends shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Spectrum Brands pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Natural Health Trends pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 17.1%. Spectrum Brands pays out 70.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Natural Health Trends pays out 2,666.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Spectrum Brands has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Spectrum Brands has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Natural Health Trends has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Spectrum Brands and Natural Health Trends, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spectrum Brands	0	1	4	0	2.80
Natural Health Trends	0	0	0	0	0.00

Spectrum Brands presently has a consensus target price of $74.80, indicating a potential upside of 36.10%. Given Spectrum Brands’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Spectrum Brands is more favorable than Natural Health Trends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Spectrum Brands and Natural Health Trends”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spectrum Brands	$2.85 billion	0.47	$124.80 million	$2.68	20.51
Natural Health Trends	$42.96 million	1.25	$570,000.00	$0.03	156.00

Spectrum Brands has higher revenue and earnings than Natural Health Trends. Spectrum Brands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Natural Health Trends, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Spectrum Brands beats Natural Health Trends on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spectrum Brands

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. operates as a branded consumer products and home essentials company in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. It operates through three segments: Home and Personal Care; Global Pet Care; and Home and Garden. The Home and Personal Care segment provides home appliances under the Black & Decker, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, PowerXL, Emeril Legasse, Copper Chef, Toastmaster, Juiceman, Farberware, and Breadman brands; and personal care products under the Remington brand. The Global Pet Care segment provides dog and cat chews, treats, wet and dry foods, dog and cat clean-up and food, training, health and grooming, indoor birds, and small animal food and care products under the Good'n'Fun, DreamBone, GOOD BOY, SmartBones, IAMS, EUKANUBA, Nature's Miracle, FURminator, Dingo, 8IN1, Meowee!, and Wild Harvest brands. This segment also offers aquarium kits, stand-alone tanks, and aquatics equipment and consumables under the Tetra, Marineland, Instant Ocean, GloFish, and OmegaSea brands. The Home and Garden segment provides outdoor insect and weed control solutions, and animal repellents under the Spectracide, Garden Safe, Liquid Fence, and EcoLogic brands; household pest control solutions under the Hot Shot, Black Flag, Real-Kill, Ultra Kill, The Ant Trap, and Rid-A-Bug brand names; household surface cleaning, maintenance, and restoration products, including bottled liquids, mops, wipes, and markers under the Rejuvenate brand name; and personal-use pesticides and insect repellent products under the Cutter and Repel brands. The company sells its products through retailers, e-commerce and online retailers, wholesalers, and distributors. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

About Natural Health Trends

Natural Health Trends Corp., a direct-selling and e-commerce company, provides personal care, wellness, and lifestyle products under the NHT Global brand. The company offers wellness products, including liquid, encapsulated, tableted and powder dietary and nutritional supplements, vitamins, and minerals; and herbal products comprising herbal supplements. It also provides beauty products, such as age-defying and hydrating cleansers, creams, lotions, serums, and toners; and lifestyle products, which include weight management and energy enhancing supplements, as well as topical gels. In addition, the company offers home appliances; and daily products, such as oral care, hair care, and body care. It sells its products directly to consumers, as well as through an e-commerce retail platform in the United States, Canada, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Peru, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, India, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Europe. The company was formerly known as Florida Institute of Massage Therapy, Inc. and changed its name to Natural Health Trends Corp. in June 1993. Natural Health Trends Corp. was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.