Head to Head Contrast: Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) and Greggs (OTCMKTS:GGGSF)

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) and Greggs (OTCMKTS:GGGSF) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Greggs, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marriott Vacations Worldwide	3	2	7	0	2.33
Greggs	1	2	0	0	1.67

Marriott Vacations Worldwide presently has a consensus price target of $97.80, indicating a potential downside of 20.72%. Given Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Marriott Vacations Worldwide is more favorable than Greggs.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Greggs”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marriott Vacations Worldwide	$5.16 billion	0.82	-$308.00 million	($9.74)	-12.67
Greggs	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.21	122.69

Greggs has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Marriott Vacations Worldwide. Marriott Vacations Worldwide is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Greggs, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.5% of Marriott Vacations Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.1% of Greggs shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.3% of Marriott Vacations Worldwide shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Marriott Vacations Worldwide pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Greggs pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Marriott Vacations Worldwide pays out -32.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Greggs pays out 91.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Marriott Vacations Worldwide is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Greggs’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marriott Vacations Worldwide	-6.47%	12.27%	2.68%
Greggs	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Marriott Vacations Worldwide beats Greggs on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, a vacation company, develops, markets, sells, and manages vacation ownership and related businesses, products, and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Vacation Ownership and Exchange & Third-Party Management. The company manages vacation ownership and related products under the Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, Hyatt Vacation Club, and Marriott Vacation Club Pulse brands. It develops, markets, and sells vacation ownership and related products under The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club brand; and holds right to develop, market, and sell ownership residential products under The Ritz-Carlton Residences brand. In addition, the company offers exchange networks and membership programs, as well as provision of management services to other resorts and lodging properties through Interval International, and Aqua-Aston business brands. Further, it provides financing consumer purchases of vacation ownership products, and renting vacation ownership inventory. The company sells its upscale tier vacation ownership products primarily through a network of resort-based sales centers and off-site sales locations. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About Greggs

Greggs plc operates as a food-on-the-go retailer in the United Kingdom. It offers a range of fresh bakery products, sandwiches, and drinks. The company sells products to franchise and wholesale partners for sale in their own outlets. It is also involved in the property holding, non-trading, and trustee businesses. The company also operates through its own shops. Greggs plc was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, the United Kingdom.