Head-To-Head Review: Growlife (OTCMKTS:PHOT) vs. Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT)

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) and Growlife (OTCMKTS:PHOT) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Central Garden & Pet and Growlife, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Central Garden & Pet	0	3	1	1	2.60
Growlife	0	0	0	0	0.00

Central Garden & Pet currently has a consensus price target of $42.50, suggesting a potential upside of 14.59%. Given Central Garden & Pet’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Central Garden & Pet is more favorable than Growlife.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Central Garden & Pet and Growlife”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Central Garden & Pet	$3.13 billion	0.74	$162.84 million	$2.45	15.14
Growlife	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.16)	N/A

Central Garden & Pet has higher revenue and earnings than Growlife. Growlife is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Central Garden & Pet, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Central Garden & Pet and Growlife’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Central Garden & Pet	5.04%	10.99%	4.75%
Growlife	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

16.1% of Central Garden & Pet shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.2% of Central Garden & Pet shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Growlife shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Central Garden & Pet beats Growlife on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co. engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on dog and cat supplies such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management and training pads, supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles and pet birds including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish, and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions. The Garden segment includes lawn and garden consumables such as grass, vegetable, flower and herb seed, wild bird feed, bird houses and other birding accessories, weed, grass, and other herbicides, insecticide and pesticide products, fertilizers, and live plants. The company was founded by William E. Brown in 1980 and is headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA.

About Growlife

GrowLife, Inc. focuses on the functional mushroom business. It processes, stores, markets, distributes, and sells fresh and dried mushroom products. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Kirkland, Washington.