Analyzing SSP Group (OTCMKTS:SSPPF) and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL)

SSP Group (OTCMKTS:SSPPF) and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

SSP Group has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.0% of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for SSP Group and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SSP Group	0	1	2	0	2.67
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store	4	6	2	1	2.00

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has a consensus target price of $37.75, suggesting a potential upside of 28.58%. Given Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is more favorable than SSP Group.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SSP Group and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SSP Group	$4.75 billion	0.43	-$97.17 million	N/A	N/A
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store	$3.48 billion	0.19	$46.38 million	($0.18)	-163.11

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has lower revenue, but higher earnings than SSP Group.

Profitability

This table compares SSP Group and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SSP Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store	-0.12%	4.25%	0.89%

Summary

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store beats SSP Group on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SSP Group

SSP Group plc operates food and beverage outlets in North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and internationally. The company operates outlets at airports, railway stations, motorway service areas, hospitals, and shopping centers. It also operates sandwich shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants. SSP Group plc was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. develops and operates the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store concept in the United States. Its Cracker Barrel stores consist of restaurants with a gift shop. The company's restaurants serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, as well as dine-in, pick-up, and delivery services. Its gift shop offers various decorative and functional items, such as rocking chairs, seasonal gifts, apparel, toys, food, cookware, and various other gift items, as well as various candies, preserves, and other food items. The company was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Lebanon, Tennessee.