Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) & Ceconomy (OTCMKTS:MTTRY) Critical Analysis

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Barnes & Noble Education	-0.56%	-22.09%	-6.22%
Ceconomy	0.71%	46.82%	2.53%

Volatility & Risk

Barnes & Noble Education has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ceconomy has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Barnes & Noble Education and Ceconomy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Barnes & Noble Education	1	0	0	0	1.00
Ceconomy	0	0	0	1	4.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

38.5% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Barnes & Noble Education	$1.61 billion	0.17	-$65.82 million	($0.28)	-28.90
Ceconomy	$25.51 billion	0.09	-$38.73 million	$0.08	11.25

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

Summary

Ceconomy beats Barnes & Noble Education on 9 of the 13 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 Ceconomy

Ceconomy AG, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the consumer electronics retail business. It operates stores under the MediaMarkt and Saturn brands. The company offers professional assistance for the installation, connection, and troubleshooting of electronic devices at home under the Deutsche Technikberatung brand. It operates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Hungary, as well as in Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe. Ceconomy AG is based in Düsseldorf, Germany.