Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC – Get Free Report) and Lucky Strike Entertainment (NYSE:LUCK – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Dividends
Marriott Vacations Worldwide pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.7%. Lucky Strike Entertainment pays an annual dividend of $0.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Marriott Vacations Worldwide pays out 70.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lucky Strike Entertainment pays out -57.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Marriott Vacations Worldwide has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Marriott Vacations Worldwide is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Lucky Strike Entertainment”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Marriott Vacations Worldwide | $5.08 billion | 0.32 | $218.00 million | $4.46 | 10.54 |
| Lucky Strike Entertainment | $1.20 billion | 0.94 | -$10.02 million | ($0.38) | -21.18 |
Marriott Vacations Worldwide has higher revenue and earnings than Lucky Strike Entertainment. Lucky Strike Entertainment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marriott Vacations Worldwide, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Lucky Strike Entertainment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Marriott Vacations Worldwide | 3.44% | 11.44% | 2.92% |
| Lucky Strike Entertainment | -3.80% | -23.31% | -1.95% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
89.5% of Marriott Vacations Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.1% of Lucky Strike Entertainment shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Marriott Vacations Worldwide shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 84.2% of Lucky Strike Entertainment shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility & Risk
Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a beta of 1.5, suggesting that its stock price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lucky Strike Entertainment has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Lucky Strike Entertainment, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Marriott Vacations Worldwide | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2.38 |
| Lucky Strike Entertainment | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.29 |
Marriott Vacations Worldwide currently has a consensus price target of $82.00, suggesting a potential upside of 74.48%. Lucky Strike Entertainment has a consensus price target of $12.20, suggesting a potential upside of 51.55%. Given Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Marriott Vacations Worldwide is more favorable than Lucky Strike Entertainment.
Summary
Marriott Vacations Worldwide beats Lucky Strike Entertainment on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Marriott Vacations Worldwide
Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, a vacation company, develops, markets, sells, and manages vacation ownership and related businesses, products, and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Vacation Ownership and Exchange & Third-Party Management. The company manages vacation ownership and related products under the Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, Hyatt Vacation Club, and Marriott Vacation Club Pulse brands. It develops, markets, and sells vacation ownership and related products under The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club brand; and holds right to develop, market, and sell ownership residential products under The Ritz-Carlton Residences brand. In addition, the company offers exchange networks and membership programs, as well as provision of management services to other resorts and lodging properties through Interval International, and Aqua-Aston business brands. Further, it provides financing consumer purchases of vacation ownership products, and renting vacation ownership inventory. The company sells its upscale tier vacation ownership products primarily through a network of resort-based sales centers and off-site sales locations. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.
About Lucky Strike Entertainment
Lucky Strike Entertainment Corp. engages in operating bowling centers. It offers entertainment concepts with lounge seating, arcades, food and beverage offerings, and hosting and overseeing professional and non-professional bowling tournaments and related broadcasting. The company was founded by Thomas F. Shannon in 1997 and is headquartered in Mechanicsville, VA.
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