Financial Review: Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) versus Panasonic (OTCMKTS:PCRFY)

Panasonic (OTCMKTS:PCRFY) and Escalade (NASDAQ:ESCA) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Panasonic and Escalade’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Panasonic	5.96%	12.00%	5.82%
Escalade	9.46%	13.11%	10.07%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Panasonic and Escalade, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Panasonic	0	1	0	0	2.00
Escalade	0	0	1	1	3.50

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Panasonic and Escalade”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Panasonic	$62.02 billion	0.35	$1.96 billion	$1.54	6.08
Escalade	$240.16 million	1.18	$13.70 million	$1.67	12.28

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

Volatility & Risk

Panasonic has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Escalade has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

9.4% of Panasonic shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.2% of Escalade shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Panasonic shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 33.1% of Escalade shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Panasonic pays an annual dividend of $0.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Escalade pays an annual dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Panasonic pays out 11.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Escalade pays out 36.5% 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.

Summary

Escalade beats Panasonic on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Panasonic

Panasonic Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, research, develops, manufactures, sells, and services various electrical and electronic products worldwide. It operates through five segments: Lifestyle, Automotive, Connect, Industry, and Energy. The Lifestyle segment offers refrigerators, microwave ovens, rice cookers, washing machines, lighting fixtures, vacuum cleaners, air-conditioners, air to water heat pump system, air purifiers/sterilizers, and freezing or refrigerating showcases, as well as ventilation and perflation equipment. This segment also provides personal-care products; lamps, wiring devices, solar photovoltaic systems, fuel cells, and compressors; bicycles; and nursing care services. The Automotive segment offers infotainment systems, head-up displays, automotive speakers and switches, advanced driver assistance systems, and related devices, as well as systems and devices for xEVs and interior rearview mirrors. The Connect segment provides aircraft in-flight entertainment systems and communications services; electronic components-mounting machines; welding equipment; projectors; professional AV systems; PCs and tablets; solutions for various industries; installation/operation/ maintenance services; and supply chain management software. The Industry segment offers relays, switches, power supply products, touch panels, motors, sensors, laser markers, capacitors, inductors, resistors, circuit board materials, semiconductor device materials, molding compounds, and LCD panels. The Energy segment provides dry, primary/secondary lithium, nickel-metal hydride, and lithium-ion batteries; and cylindrical lithium-ion batteries for in-vehicle use, as well as storage battery modules and systems. It also offers digital cameras, video and audio equipment, television, telephones, and intercoms. The company was formerly known as Panasonic Corporation. Panasonic Holdings Corporation was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Kadoma, Japan.

About Escalade

Escalade, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, imports, and sells sporting goods in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company provides various sporting goods brands in basketball goals, archery, indoor and outdoor game recreation, and fitness products. It offers archery products under the Bear Archery, Trophy Ridge, Whisker Biscuit, Cajun Bowfishing, Karnage, SIK, BearX, and Bear Traditional brand names; table tennis products under the STIGA and Ping-Pong brands; basketball goals under the Goalrilla, Goaliath, Silverback, Hoopstar, and Goalsetter brand names; and pickleball under the Onix, DURA, and Pickleball Now brands. The company also provides play systems under the Woodplay, Jack & June, and Childlife brands; fitness products under the STEP, Lifeline, Kettleworx, Natural Fitness, USW, and PER4M brand names; safety products under the USWeight brand; hockey and soccer game tables under the Triumph Sports, Atomic, American Legend, Air Hockey, and HJ Scott brands; and billiard tables and accessories under the American Heritage Billiards, Brunswick Billiards, Gold Crown, Centennial, Cue&Case, Lucasi, Mizerak, PureX, Rage, Players, Minnesota Fats, and Mosconi brand names. In addition, it offers darting products under the Unicorn, Winmau, DMI, Prodigy, Arachnid, Accudart, and Nodor brands; water sports products under the RAVE Sports brand; and outdoor game products under the Victory Tailgate, Triumph Sports, ACL, and Zume Games brand names. The company provides its products through sporting goods retailers, specialty dealers, online retailers, direct-to-consumer, e-commerce, traditional department stores, and mass merchants. Escalade, Incorporated was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Evansville, Indiana.