Head to Head Comparison: SNDL (NASDAQ:SNDL) & Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED)

SNDL (NASDAQ:SNDL) and Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares SNDL and Barnes & Noble Education’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SNDL	-2.36%	-2.01%	-1.67%
Barnes & Noble Education	1.29%	8.77%	2.66%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SNDL and Barnes & Noble Education”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SNDL	$677.32 million	0.44	-$11.29 million	($0.06)	-19.17
Barnes & Noble Education	$1.72 billion	0.25	$16.87 million	$0.64	19.52

Barnes & Noble Education has higher revenue and earnings than SNDL. SNDL is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Barnes & Noble Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

38.5% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Barnes & Noble Education shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

SNDL has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Barnes & Noble Education has a beta of 1.44, indicating that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for SNDL and Barnes & Noble Education, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SNDL	1	1	0	0	1.50
Barnes & Noble Education	1	1	2	0	2.25

Barnes & Noble Education has a consensus price target of $17.25, indicating a potential upside of 38.09%. Given Barnes & Noble Education’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Barnes & Noble Education is more favorable than SNDL.

Summary

Barnes & Noble Education beats SNDL on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SNDL

SNDL Inc. engages in the production, distribution, and sale of cannabis products in Canada. The company operates through Liquor Retail, Cannabis Retail, Cannabis Operations, and Investments segments. It engages in the cultivation, distribution, and sale of cannabis for the adult-use and medical markets; sells wines, beers, and spirits through wholly owned liquor stores; and private sale of recreational cannabis through wholly owned and franchised retail cannabis stores. In addition, the company produces and distributes inhalable products, such as flower, pre-rolls, and vapes. It offers its products under the Top Leaf, Sundial Cannabis, Palmetto, and Grasslands brands. The company was formerly known as Sundial Growers Inc. and changed its name to SNDL Inc. in July 2022. SNDL Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Barnes & Noble Education

Barnes and Noble Education, Inc. engages in the management and operation of bookstore chains in universities. It operates through the Retail and Wholesale segments. The Retail segment operates college, university, and K-12 school bookstores, physical bookstores, and virtual bookstores. The Wholesale segment sells and distributes new and used textbooks to physical bookstores. The company was founded by Leonard S, Riggio in 1965 and is headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ.