Comparing Malibu Boats (NASDAQ:MBUU) and Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR)

Malibu Boats (NASDAQ:MBUU) and Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE:RGR) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Malibu Boats and Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Malibu Boats	$819.06 million	0.59	$14.88 million	$0.73	35.38
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.	$546.06 million	1.21	-$4.39 million	($0.28)	-147.84

Malibu Boats has higher revenue and earnings than Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Malibu Boats, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Malibu Boats and Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Malibu Boats	1	3	1	1	2.33
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.	2	0	1	0	1.67

Malibu Boats currently has a consensus price target of $32.40, suggesting a potential upside of 25.44%. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a consensus price target of $43.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.88%. Given Malibu Boats’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Malibu Boats is more favorable than Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc..

Volatility & Risk

Malibu Boats has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.3% of Malibu Boats shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.0% of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Malibu Boats shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Malibu Boats and Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Malibu Boats	1.76%	4.25%	2.95%
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.	-0.80%	6.93%	5.76%

Summary

Malibu Boats beats Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Malibu Boats

Malibu Boats, Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and sells a range of recreational powerboats. It operates through three segments: Malibu, Saltwater Fishing, and Cobalt. The company provides performance sport boats, and sterndrive and outboard boats under the Malibu, Axis, Pursuit, Maverick, Cobia, Pathfinder, Hewes, and Cobalt brands. Its products are used for a range of recreational boating activities, including water sports, such as water skiing, wakeboarding, and wake surfing; and general recreational boating and fishing. The company sells its products through independent dealers in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America, South Africa, and Australia/New Zealand. Malibu Boats, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is based in Loudon, Tennessee.

About Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.

Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, and selling firearms to domestic customers. It operates through the Firearms and Castings segments. The Firearms segment focuses on manufacturing and selling rifles, pistols, and revolvers principally to a number of federally licensed, independent wholesale distributors. The Castings segment offers steel investment castings and metal injection molding parts. The company was founded by William B. Ruger in 1949 and is headquartered in Southport, CT.