Head-To-Head Review: Carnival (NYSE:CCL) & Good Times Restaurants (NASDAQ:GTIM)

Good Times Restaurants (NASDAQ:GTIM) and Carnival (NYSE:CCL) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Good Times Restaurants and Carnival’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Good Times Restaurants	1.65%	6.47%	2.73%
Carnival	11.37%	24.83%	6.32%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Good Times Restaurants and Carnival”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Good Times Restaurants	$141.63 million	0.11	$1.02 million	$0.21	6.95
Carnival	$26.62 billion	1.33	$2.76 billion	$2.29	11.51

Carnival has higher revenue and earnings than Good Times Restaurants. Good Times Restaurants is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carnival, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Good Times Restaurants has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carnival has a beta of 2.38, meaning that its stock price is 138% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

12.1% of Good Times Restaurants shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.2% of Carnival shares are owned by institutional investors. 26.5% of Good Times Restaurants shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 7.9% of Carnival shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Good Times Restaurants and Carnival, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Good Times Restaurants	1	0	0	0	1.00
Carnival	0	6	21	1	2.82

Carnival has a consensus target price of $34.14, indicating a potential upside of 29.56%. Given Carnival’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Carnival is more favorable than Good Times Restaurants.

Summary

Carnival beats Good Times Restaurants on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Good Times Restaurants

Good Times Restaurants Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the restaurant business in the United States. It operates and franchises Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard, an upscale quick-service drive-through dining restaurant; and owns, operates, franchises, and licenses Bad Daddy's Burger Bar, a full-service upscale casual dining restaurant. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Golden, Colorado.

About Carnival

Carnival Corp. engages in the operation of cruise ships. It operates through the following business segments: North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise, Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations, Cruise Support, and Tour and Others. The North America and Australia (NAA) Cruise segment includes the Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Seabourn. The Europe and Asia (EA) Cruise Operations segment consists of AIDA, Costa, Cunard, and P&O Cruises (UK). The Cruise Support segment represents port destinations and private islands for the benefit of its cruise brands. The Tour and Other segment operates hotel and transportation operations of Holland America Princess Alaska Tours. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Miami, FL.