Winmark (NASDAQ:WINA) & GrowGeneration (NASDAQ:GRWG) Head to Head Contrast

GrowGeneration (NASDAQ:GRWG) and Winmark (NASDAQ:WINA) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for GrowGeneration and Winmark, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GrowGeneration	1	1	1	0	2.00
Winmark	0	1	0	0	2.00

GrowGeneration presently has a consensus price target of $2.50, suggesting a potential upside of 41.24%. Given GrowGeneration’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe GrowGeneration is more favorable than Winmark.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

36.0% of GrowGeneration shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.3% of Winmark shares are held by institutional investors. 8.1% of GrowGeneration shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.4% of Winmark shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

GrowGeneration has a beta of 2.51, indicating that its share price is 151% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Winmark has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares GrowGeneration and Winmark”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GrowGeneration	$166.68 million	0.63	-$24.05 million	($0.27)	-6.56
Winmark	$86.06 million	14.64	$41.65 million	$11.02	31.85

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

Profitability

This table compares GrowGeneration and Winmark’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GrowGeneration	-10.07%	-17.44%	-11.52%
Winmark	47.09%	-99.47%	103.54%

Summary

Winmark beats GrowGeneration on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GrowGeneration

GrowGeneration Corp., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates retail hydroponic and organic gardening stores in the United States. The company engages in the marketing and distribution of nutrients, additives, growing media, lighting, and environmental control systems, as well as other indoor and outdoor growing products. It operates a chain of stores in California, Colorado, Michigan, Maine, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, Montana, New York, Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Arizona, Rhode Island, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia, New Jersey, and New Mexico, as well as growgeneration.com, an online superstore for cultivators, a wholesale business for resellers, HRG Distribution, and benching, racking, and storage solutions and MMI. The company was formerly known as Easylife Corp. GrowGeneration Corp. was founded in 2008 and is based in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

About Winmark

Winmark Corporation, a resale company operates as a franchisor for small business in the United States and Canada. The company franchises retail stores concepts that buy, sell and trade merchandise. It also operates middle-market equipment leasing business. In addition, the company buys and sells used clothing and accessories geared toward the teenage and young adult market under Plato’s Closet brand; and operates stores which buys and sells used and new children’s clothing, toys, furniture, equipment, and accessories primarily to parents of children ages infant to 12 years under the Once Upon A Child brand. Further, it buys, sells, trades in, and used and new sporting goods, equipment, and accessories for various athletic activities including team sports, such as baseball/softball, hockey, football, lacrosse, and soccer, as well as fitness, ski/snowboard, golf, and others under the Play It Again Sports brand; and buys and sells used women’s apparel, shoes, and accessories under the Style Encore brand. Additionally, the company buys, sells, trades in, and used and new musical instruments, speakers, amplifiers, music-related electronics, and related accessories under the Music Go Round brand. Winmark Corporation was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.