Comparing Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ:DPZ) and Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN)

Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) and Domino’s Pizza (NASDAQ:DPZ) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Dividends

Vail Resorts pays an annual dividend of $8.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.6%. Domino’s Pizza pays an annual dividend of $7.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Vail Resorts pays out 201.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Domino’s Pizza pays out 45.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Vail Resorts has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Domino’s Pizza has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Vail Resorts and Domino’s Pizza, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vail Resorts	2	8	5	0	2.20
Domino’s Pizza	1	14	16	0	2.48

Vail Resorts presently has a consensus target price of $149.83, suggesting a potential upside of 11.06%. Domino’s Pizza has a consensus target price of $397.74, suggesting a potential upside of 16.61%. Given Domino’s Pizza’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Domino’s Pizza is more favorable than Vail Resorts.

Profitability

This table compares Vail Resorts and Domino’s Pizza’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vail Resorts	5.38%	21.88%	2.67%
Domino’s Pizza	11.86%	-15.15%	34.16%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.9% of Vail Resorts shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.6% of Domino’s Pizza shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Vail Resorts shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Domino’s Pizza shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Vail Resorts has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Domino’s Pizza has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Vail Resorts and Domino’s Pizza”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vail Resorts	$2.96 billion	1.62	$280.00 million	$4.40	30.66
Domino’s Pizza	$4.94 billion	2.28	$601.70 million	$17.63	19.35

Domino’s Pizza has higher revenue and earnings than Vail Resorts. Domino’s Pizza is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vail Resorts, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Domino’s Pizza beats Vail Resorts on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates mountain resorts and regional ski areas in the United States. It operates through three segments: Mountain, Lodging, and Real Estate. The Mountain segment operates 41 destination mountain resorts and regional ski areas. This segment is also involved in the ancillary activities, including ski school, dining, and retail/rental operations, as well as real estate brokerage activities. The Lodging segment owns and/or manages various luxury hotels and condominiums under the RockResorts brand; other lodging properties; various condominiums located in proximity to the company's mountain resorts; destination resorts; and golf courses, as well as offers resort ground transportation services. This segment operates owned and managed hotel and condominium units. The Real Estate segment owns, develops, and sells real estate properties. The company was founded in 1845 and is based in Broomfield, Colorado.

About Domino’s Pizza

Domino’s Pizza, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a pizza company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: U.S. Stores, International Franchise, and Supply Chain. It offers pizzas under the Domino’s brand name through company-owned and franchised stores. It also provides oven-baked sandwiches, pastas, boneless chicken and chicken wings, breads and dips, desserts, and soft drink products, as well as loaded tots and pepperoni stuffed cheesy breads. Domino’s Pizza, Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan.