Comparing Natural Alternatives International (NASDAQ:NAII) and Waldencast (NASDAQ:WALD)

Waldencast (NASDAQ:WALD) and Natural Alternatives International (NASDAQ:NAII) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Waldencast and Natural Alternatives International, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waldencast	1	1	2	0	2.25
Natural Alternatives International	1	0	0	0	1.00

Waldencast currently has a consensus target price of $2.33, suggesting a potential upside of 72.84%. Given Waldencast’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Waldencast is more favorable than Natural Alternatives International.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waldencast	N/A	N/A	N/A
Natural Alternatives International	-10.13%	-12.21%	-5.30%

Volatility and Risk

Waldencast has a beta of -0.13, meaning that its share price is 113% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Natural Alternatives International has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Waldencast and Natural Alternatives International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waldencast	$272.07 million	0.64	-$229.75 million	N/A	N/A
Natural Alternatives International	$129.86 million	0.10	-$13.57 million	($2.39)	-0.85

Natural Alternatives International has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Waldencast.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

42.0% of Waldencast shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.4% of Natural Alternatives International shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of Waldencast 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 is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Waldencast beats Natural Alternatives International on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Waldencast

Waldencast plc operates in the beauty and wellness business. The company engages in developing, acquiring, accelerating, and scaling various brands. It provides cosmetic, over-the-counter, and prescription products under the Obagi Medical, Obagi Clinical, and Obagi Professional brands; and a Skintrinsiq device for use in facial treatments that is used by physicians' offices, spas, and aestheticians. The company also offers clean makeup products under the Milk Makeup brand. It sells its products to dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and other physicians who focuses on aesthetic and therapeutic skincare, including physicians on site at medical spas, through its direct sales force, as well as through distribution partners. The company is headquartered in White Plains, New York.

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.