Critical Comparison: Tuniu (NASDAQ:TOUR) vs. Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG)

Tuniu (NASDAQ:TOUR) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Tuniu has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chipotle Mexican Grill has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Tuniu and Chipotle Mexican Grill’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tuniu	3.73%	3.17%	1.90%
Chipotle Mexican Grill	11.43%	54.65%	16.21%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Tuniu and Chipotle Mexican Grill”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tuniu	$82.65 million	0.62	$4.45 million	$0.32	14.73
Chipotle Mexican Grill	$11.93 billion	2.99	$1.54 billion	$1.09	25.84

Chipotle Mexican Grill has higher revenue and earnings than Tuniu. Tuniu is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chipotle Mexican Grill, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Tuniu and Chipotle Mexican Grill, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tuniu	1	0	0	0	1.00
Chipotle Mexican Grill	0	9	27	0	2.75

Chipotle Mexican Grill has a consensus price target of $43.56, suggesting a potential upside of 54.65%. Given Chipotle Mexican Grill’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Chipotle Mexican Grill is more favorable than Tuniu.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.3% of Chipotle Mexican Grill shares are held by institutional investors. 76.1% of Tuniu shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Chipotle Mexican Grill shares are held 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.

Summary

Chipotle Mexican Grill beats Tuniu on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tuniu

Tuniu Corporation operates as an online leisure travel company in China. The company offers various packaged tours, including organized and self-guided tours; and other travel-related services, such as tourist attraction tickets, visa application services, accommodation reservation, financial services, and hotel booking services, as well as air, train, and bus ticketing for leisure travelers. It also provides car rental and insurance services, as well as advertising services to tourism boards and bureaus. The company offers its products and services through various online and offline channels, including tuniu.com website; mobile platform; a call center in Nanjing; and other offline retail stores in China. Tuniu Corporation was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Nanjing, the People's Republic of China.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It sells food and beverages through offering burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company also provides delivery and related services its app and website. It has operations in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.