Reviewing Natural Alternatives International (NASDAQ:NAII) & Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR)

Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) and Natural Alternatives International (NASDAQ:NAII) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

79.4% of Nature’s Sunshine Products shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.4% of Natural Alternatives International shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Nature’s Sunshine Products shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.8% of Natural Alternatives International shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Nature’s Sunshine Products has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Natural Alternatives International has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Nature’s Sunshine Products and Natural Alternatives International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nature’s Sunshine Products	3.68%	12.88%	8.17%
Natural Alternatives International	-10.13%	-12.21%	-5.30%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nature’s Sunshine Products and Natural Alternatives International”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nature’s Sunshine Products	$480.14 million	0.53	$19.52 million	$1.01	14.20
Natural Alternatives International	$129.86 million	0.10	-$13.57 million	($2.39)	-0.90

Nature’s Sunshine Products has higher revenue and earnings than Natural Alternatives International. Natural Alternatives International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nature’s Sunshine Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Nature’s Sunshine Products and Natural Alternatives International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nature’s Sunshine Products	0	1	2	0	2.67
Natural Alternatives International	1	0	0	0	1.00

Nature’s Sunshine Products presently has a consensus price target of $30.50, indicating a potential upside of 112.69%. Given Nature’s Sunshine Products’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Nature’s Sunshine Products is more favorable than Natural Alternatives International.

Summary

Nature’s Sunshine Products beats Natural Alternatives International on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nature’s Sunshine Products

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc., a natural health and wellness company, manufactures and sells nutritional and personal care products in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and internationally. It offers general health products related to blood sugar support, bone health, cellular health, cognitive function, joint health, mood, sexual health, sleep, sports and energy, and vision. The company also provides immunity, cardiovascular, and digestive products; and personal care products, such as oils and lotions, aloe vera gels, herbal shampoos, herbal skin treatment, toothpaste, and skin cleansers, as well as weight management products. It offers its products under the Nature’s Sunshine and Synergy WorldWide brands through a sales force of independent consultants. Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Lehi, Utah.

About Natural Alternatives International

Natural Alternatives International, Inc. engages in formulating, manufacturing, and marketing nutritional supplements in the United States, Europe, Australia, Asia, Mexico, and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Private-Label Contract Manufacturing, and Patent and Trademark Licensing. It offers private-label contract manufacturing services to companies that market and distribute vitamins, minerals, herbal, and other nutritional supplements, as well as other health care products. The company also provides strategic partnering services, such as customized product formulation, clinical study design and support, manufacturing, marketing support, international regulatory and label law compliance, international product registration, packaging in multiple formats and labeling design, scientific research, proprietary ingredients, customer-specific nutritional product formulation, product testing and evaluation, marketing management, packaging and delivery system design, regulatory review, and international product registration assistance. In addition, it sells beta-alanine ingredient under the CarnoSyn and SR CarnoSyn names. The company manufactures products in various forms, including capsules, tablets, chewable wafers, and powders. Its private-label contract manufacturing customers include companies that market nutritional supplements through direct sales marketing channels, direct to consumer e-commerce channels, and retail stores. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.