Analyzing Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) & JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK)

JAKKS Pacific (NASDAQ:JAKK) and Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares JAKKS Pacific and Johnson Outdoors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
JAKKS Pacific	2.77%	4.33%	2.42%
Johnson Outdoors	-1.21%	4.26%	2.90%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares JAKKS Pacific and Johnson Outdoors”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
JAKKS Pacific	$570.67 million	0.52	$9.87 million	$1.39	18.49
Johnson Outdoors	$660.91 million	0.76	-$34.29 million	($0.85)	-56.68

JAKKS Pacific has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Johnson Outdoors. Johnson Outdoors is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than JAKKS Pacific, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

JAKKS Pacific has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Johnson Outdoors has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for JAKKS Pacific and Johnson Outdoors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
JAKKS Pacific	0	2	0	0	2.00
Johnson Outdoors	1	1	0	0	1.50

Insider and Institutional Ownership

44.4% of JAKKS Pacific shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.1% of Johnson Outdoors shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of JAKKS Pacific shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.2% of Johnson Outdoors shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

JAKKS Pacific pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Johnson Outdoors pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. JAKKS Pacific pays out 71.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Johnson Outdoors pays out -155.3% 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. Johnson Outdoors has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Summary

JAKKS Pacific beats Johnson Outdoors on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About JAKKS Pacific

JAKKS Pacific, Inc. designs, produces, markets, sells, and distributes toys and related products, electronic products, and other consumer products worldwide. It operates through two segments, Toys/Consumer Products and Costumes. The company offers action figures and accessories, such as licensed characters; toy vehicles and accessories; dolls and accessories, including small, large, fashion, and baby dolls based on licenses, as well as infant and pre-school products; private label products; and foot-to-floor ride-on products. The company also provides role play, dress-up, pretend play, and novelty products for boys and girls based on brands and entertainment properties, as well as on its own proprietary brands; and indoor and outdoor kids' furniture, activity trays and tables, room décor, and seasonal and outdoor products. In addition, it offers Halloween and everyday costumes for various ages based on licensed and proprietary non-licensed brands, and related Halloween accessories; outdoor activity toys; junior sports toys, including hyper-charged balls, sport sets, and toy hoops; and board games. The company sells its products through in-house sales staff and independent sales representatives to toy and mass-market retail chain stores, department stores, office supply stores, drug and grocery store chains, club stores, value-oriented dollar stores, toy specialty stores, and wholesalers. JAKKS Pacific, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California.

About Johnson Outdoors

Johnson Outdoors Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets seasonal and outdoor recreational products for fishing worldwide. It operates through four segments: Fishing, Camping, Watercraft Recreation, and Diving. The Fishing segment offers electric motors for trolling, marine battery chargers, and shallow water anchors; sonar and GPS equipment for fish finding, navigation, and marine cartography; and downriggers for controlled-depth fishing. This segment sells its products under the Minn Kota, Humminbird, and Cannon brands through outdoor specialty and Internet retailers, retail store chains, original equipment manufacturers, and distributors. The Camping segment provides consumer, commercial, and military tents and accessories; camping stoves; other recreational camping products; and portable outdoor cooking systems. This segment sells its products under the Eureka! and Jetboil brands through specialty stores, sporting goods stores, internet retailers, and direct to consumers. The Watercraft Recreation segment offers kayaks, canoes, and paddles for family recreation, touring, angling, and tripping through independent specialty and outdoor retailers under Old Town and Carlisle brands. The Diving segment manufactures and markets underwater diving and snorkeling equipment, such as regulators, buoyancy compensators, dive computers and gauges, wetsuits, masks, fins, snorkels, and accessories through independent specialty dive stores and diving magazines under the SCUBAPRO brand name. This segment also provides regular maintenance, product repair, diving education, and travel program services; and sells diving gear to dive training centers, resorts, and public safety units. It sells its products through websites. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin.