WW International (NASDAQ:WW) and Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) Financial Comparison

Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) and WW International (NASDAQ:WW) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Strategic Education has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WW International has a beta of 1.73, indicating that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Strategic Education and WW International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Strategic Education	10.46%	8.98%	7.11%
WW International	-56.84%	N/A	-0.32%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.3% of Strategic Education shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.2% of WW International shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of Strategic Education shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of WW International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Strategic Education and WW International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Strategic Education	0	3	2	0	2.40
WW International	1	1	0	0	1.50

Strategic Education currently has a consensus target price of $95.33, indicating a potential upside of 24.08%. Given Strategic Education’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Strategic Education is more favorable than WW International.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Strategic Education and WW International”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Strategic Education	$1.27 billion	1.35	$126.61 million	$6.00	12.80
WW International	$710.64 million	0.20	-$112.25 million	($10.13)	-1.42

Strategic Education has higher revenue and earnings than WW International. WW International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Strategic Education, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Strategic Education beats WW International on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides education services through campus-based and online post-secondary education, and programs to develop job-ready skills. The company operates through U.S. Higher Education, Australia/New Zealand, and Education Technology Services segments. It operates Strayer University that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, criminal justice, education, health services, information technology, and public administration at physical campuses located in the eastern United States, as well as through online; non-degree web and mobile application development courses through Hackbright Academy and Devmountain; and MBA online through its Jack Welch Management Institute. In addition, the company operates Capella University that provides post-secondary education; Torrens University, which offers undergraduate, graduate, higher degree by research, and specialized degree courses primarily in business, design and creative technology, health, hospitality, and education fields through online and on physical campuses located in Australia; Think Education, a vocational training organization; and Media Design School, which provides industry-endorsed courses in 3D animation and visual effects, game art and programming, graphic and motion design, digital media artificial intelligence, and creative advertising in New Zealand. It also offers Workforce Edge, a platform to employers that provides education benefits administration solutions; and Sophia Learning, which enables lower cost education benefits programs. Strategic Education, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.

About WW International

WW International, Inc. provides weight management products and services worldwide. It offers a range of nutritional, activity, behavioral, and lifestyle tools and approaches products and services. The company also provides various digital subscription products to wellness and weight management business, which provide interactive and personalized resources that allow users to follow its weight management program through its app and web-based platform; and allows members to inspire and support each other by sharing their experiences with other people on weight health journeys. In addition, it licenses its trademarks and other intellectual property in food, beverages, and other relevant consumer products and services, as well as provides publishing services. The company was formerly known as Weight Watchers International, Inc. and changed its name to WW International, Inc. in September 2019. WW International, Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in New York, New York.