Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) vs. High Tide (NASDAQ:HITI) Head to Head Review

High Tide (NASDAQ:HITI) and Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

High Tide has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zumiez has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

4.5% of High Tide shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.5% of Zumiez shares are held by institutional investors. 12.4% of High Tide shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.3% of Zumiez shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares High Tide and Zumiez’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
High Tide	-4.73%	5.13%	1.55%
Zumiez	1.36%	3.71%	1.78%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares High Tide and Zumiez”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
High Tide	$425.10 million	0.59	-$36.23 million	($0.23)	-12.13
Zumiez	$929.06 million	0.22	$13.38 million	$0.72	18.49

Zumiez has higher revenue and earnings than High Tide. High Tide is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Zumiez, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for High Tide and Zumiez, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
High Tide	1	0	3	0	2.50
Zumiez	0	3	0	0	2.00

High Tide currently has a consensus price target of $5.62, suggesting a potential upside of 101.61%. Given High Tide’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe High Tide is more favorable than Zumiez.

Summary

Zumiez beats High Tide on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About High Tide

High Tide Inc. engages in the cannabis retail business in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Retail and Wholesale segments. It operates licensed retail cannabis stores; and provides data analytics services. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes consumption accessories. Further, it sells its products through online sales via e-commerce platform. The company offers its products under the Daily High Club, DankStop, FABCBD, GC, Nuleaf, Smoke Cartel, and Blessed CBD brands. The company was formerly known as High Tide Ventures Inc. and changed its name to High Tide Inc. in October 2018. High Tide Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Zumiez

Zumiez Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of apparel, footwear, accessories, and hardgoods for young men and women. The company provides hardgoods, including skateboards, snowboards, bindings, components, and other equipment. It operates stores in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia under the names of Zumiez, Blue Tomato, and Fast Times. It operates zumiez.com, zumiez.ca, blue-tomato.com, and fasttimes.com.au e-commerce websites. Zumiez Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Lynnwood, Washington.