RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) versus Reading International (NASDAQ:RDI) Head to Head Contrast

RCI Hospitality (NASDAQ:RICK) and Reading International (NASDAQ:RDI) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares RCI Hospitality and Reading International”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RCI Hospitality	$279.43 million	0.65	$10.81 million	($0.38)	-62.92
Reading International	$202.99 million	0.11	-$14.14 million	($0.62)	-1.65

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

Volatility and Risk

RCI Hospitality has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Reading International has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

53.8% of RCI Hospitality shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.7% of Reading International shares are held by institutional investors. 9.6% of RCI Hospitality shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 32.4% of Reading International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for RCI Hospitality and Reading International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RCI Hospitality	1	0	0	0	1.00
Reading International	1	0	0	0	1.00

Profitability

This table compares RCI Hospitality and Reading International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RCI Hospitality	-3.85%	-4.24%	-1.82%
Reading International	-8.43%	N/A	-4.02%

Summary

RCI Hospitality beats Reading International on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RCI Hospitality

RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the hospitality and related businesses in the United States. It operates in Nightclubs, Bombshells, and Media Group segments. The company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries own and/or operates upscale adult nightclubs serving primarily businessmen and professionals under the Rick's Cabaret, Jaguars Club, Tootsie's Cabaret, XTC Cabaret, Club Onyx, Hoops Cabaret and Sports Bar, Scarlett's Cabaret, Temptations Adult Cabaret, Foxy's Cabaret, Vivid Cabaret, Downtown Cabaret, Cabaret East, The Seville, Silver City Cabaret, and Kappa Men's Club. Wholly-owned subsidiaries also operate restaurants and sports bars under the Bombshells Restaurant & Bar brand; and dance clubs under the Studio 80 brand. As of February 11, 2019, the company operated 46 units, including 39 nightclub units and 7 Bombshell units. In addition, it owns two national industry trade publications serving the adult nightclubs industry and the adult retail products industry; a national industry convention and tradeshow; and two national industry award shows, as well as approximately a dozen industry and social media Websites. The company founded in 1983 as Rick's Cabaret International, Inc., changed its name to RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. in August 2014, and is based in Houston, Texas.

About Reading International

Reading International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, focuses on the ownership, development, and operation of entertainment and real property assets in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. The company operates in two segments, Cinema Exhibition and Real Estate. The Cinema Exhibition segment operates multiplex cinemas. This segment operates its cinema exhibition businesses under the Reading Cinemas, Consolidated Theatres, Angelika Film Center, State Cinema by Angelika, Angelika Anywhere, Event Cinemas, and Rialto Cinemas brands. The Real Estate segment develops, rents, or licenses retail, commercial, and live theater assets. Reading International, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in New York, New York.