Analyzing Traeger (NYSE:COOK) & Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV)

Traeger (NYSE:COOK) and Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Traeger has a beta of 1.95, meaning that its share price is 95% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advantage Solutions has a beta of 2.18, meaning that its share price is 118% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

46.8% of Traeger shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.8% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 16.2% of Traeger shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Traeger and Advantage Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Traeger	-21.84%	-13.76%	-3.95%
Advantage Solutions	-6.78%	-37.22%	-7.93%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Traeger and Advantage Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Traeger	1	4	1	1	2.29
Advantage Solutions	1	2	1	0	2.00

Traeger presently has a consensus target price of $50.08, suggesting a potential downside of 18.34%. Advantage Solutions has a consensus target price of $34.38, suggesting a potential downside of 5.67%. Given Advantage Solutions’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Advantage Solutions is more favorable than Traeger.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Traeger and Advantage Solutions”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Traeger	$559.52 million	0.30	-$115.18 million	($41.92)	-1.46
Advantage Solutions	$3.54 billion	0.14	-$227.74 million	($18.74)	-1.94

Traeger has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Advantage Solutions. Advantage Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Traeger, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Traeger beats Advantage Solutions on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Traeger

Traeger, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, sources, sells, and supports wood pellet fueled barbecue grills for retailers, distributors, and direct to consumers in the United States. Its wood pellet grills are internet of things devices that allow owners to program, monitor, and control their grill through its Traeger app. The company also produces a library of digital content, including instructional recipes and videos that demonstrate tips, tricks, and cooking techniques that empower Traeger owners to progress their cooking skills; and short- and long-form branded content highlighting stories, community members, and lifestyle content from the Traegerhood. In addition, it provides wood pellets that are used to fire the grills; rubs, spices, and sauces; accessories, such as pop-and-lock accessory rail covers, drip trays, bucket liners, storage bins, and shelves; tools to aid in meal prep, cooking, and cleanup, including pellet storage systems, cleaning solutions, barbecue tools, and MEATER smart thermometer; replacement parts; and apparel and merchandise, including t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, and baseball hats. Traeger, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Advantage Solutions

Advantage Solutions Inc. provides business solutions to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in North America and internationally. It operates in two segments, Sales and Marketing. The Sales segment offers brand-centric services, such as headquarter relationship management; analytics, insights, and intelligence; and brand-centric merchandising services. This segment also provides retailer-centric services comprising retailer-centric merchandising and in-store media services. The Marketing segment offers brand-centric services, including shopper and consumer marketing, and brand experiential services; retailer-centric services, such as retail experiential and private label services; and digital marketing, and digital media and advertising services. The company was formerly known as Karman Holding Corp. and changed its name to Advantage Solutions Inc. in March 2016. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.