Head-To-Head Contrast: Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) versus Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL)

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) and Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and risk.

Dividends

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Vail Resorts pays an annual dividend of $8.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.1%. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store pays out 71.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Vail Resorts pays out 214.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Vail Resorts has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Vail Resorts is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.0% of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of Vail Resorts shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Vail Resorts shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Vail Resorts’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store	0.95%	4.01%	0.86%
Vail Resorts	5.20%	22.82%	2.61%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Vail Resorts”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store	$3.32 billion	0.39	$31.67 million	$1.40	41.04
Vail Resorts	$2.84 billion	1.83	$147.54 million	$4.14	35.18

Vail Resorts has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. Vail Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Vail Resorts, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store	3	4	3	2	2.33
Vail Resorts	3	7	4	0	2.07

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store presently has a consensus target price of $50.86, indicating a potential downside of 11.49%. Vail Resorts has a consensus target price of $145.25, indicating a potential downside of 0.27%. Given Vail Resorts’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Vail Resorts is more favorable than Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.

Volatility & Risk

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vail Resorts has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vail Resorts beats Cracker Barrel Old Country Store on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. develops and operates the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store concept in the United States. Its Cracker Barrel stores consist of restaurants with a gift shop. The company's restaurants serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, as well as dine-in, pick-up, and delivery services. Its gift shop offers various decorative and functional items, such as rocking chairs, seasonal gifts, apparel, toys, food, cookware, and various other gift items, as well as various candies, preserves, and other food items. The company was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Lebanon, Tennessee.

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.