Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR – Get Free Report) and Natural Health Trends (NASDAQ:NHTC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Nature’s Sunshine Products and Natural Health Trends”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 | $492.02 million | 0.53 | $19.52 million | $1.01 | 14.67 |
| Natural Health Trends | $39.78 million | 0.40 | -$880,000.00 | ($0.16) | -11.66 |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Nature’s Sunshine Products and Natural Health Trends, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Nature’s Sunshine Products | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
| Natural Health Trends | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Nature’s Sunshine Products presently has a consensus target price of $30.50, indicating a potential upside of 105.86%. Given Nature’s Sunshine Products’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Nature’s Sunshine Products is more favorable than Natural Health Trends.
Risk and Volatility
Nature’s Sunshine Products has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Natural Health Trends has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Nature’s Sunshine Products and Natural Health Trends’ 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 Health Trends | -4.51% | -8.00% | -4.58% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
79.4% of Nature’s Sunshine Products shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.1% of Natural Health Trends shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Nature’s Sunshine Products shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.9% of Natural Health Trends shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
Nature’s Sunshine Products pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Natural Health Trends pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 21.4%. Nature’s Sunshine Products pays out 39.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Natural Health Trends pays out -250.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Natural Health Trends is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Summary
Nature’s Sunshine Products beats Natural Health Trends on 12 of the 16 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 Health Trends
Natural Health Trends Corp., a direct-selling and e-commerce company, provides personal care, wellness, and lifestyle products under the NHT Global brand. The company offers wellness products, including liquid, encapsulated, tableted and powder dietary and nutritional supplements, vitamins, and minerals; and herbal products comprising herbal supplements. It also provides beauty products, such as age-defying and hydrating cleansers, creams, lotions, serums, and toners; and lifestyle products, which include weight management and energy enhancing supplements, as well as topical gels. In addition, the company offers home appliances; and daily products, such as oral care, hair care, and body care. It sells its products directly to consumers, as well as through an e-commerce retail platform in the United States, Canada, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Peru, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, India, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Europe. The company was formerly known as Florida Institute of Massage Therapy, Inc. and changed its name to Natural Health Trends Corp. in June 1993. Natural Health Trends Corp. was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.
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