Comparing Stride (NYSE:LRN) & Regis (NASDAQ:RGS)

Regis (NASDAQ:RGS) and Stride (NYSE:LRN) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Regis has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stride has a beta of 0.11, indicating that its share price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Regis	$224.49 million	0.32	$6.94 million	$2.42	11.93
Stride	$2.52 billion	1.30	$338.19 million	$7.20	10.93

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

31.5% of Regis shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.2% of Stride shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.0% of Regis shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Stride shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Regis and Stride’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Regis	3.09%	4.10%	1.36%
Stride	13.43%	23.49%	15.66%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Regis and Stride, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Regis	0	1	1	0	2.50
Stride	0	4	3	0	2.43

Regis currently has a consensus target price of $42.00, suggesting a potential upside of 45.43%. Stride has a consensus target price of $95.75, suggesting a potential upside of 21.71%. Given Regis’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Regis is more favorable than Stride.

Summary

Stride beats Regis on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Regis

Regis Corporation owns, operates, and franchises hairstyling and hair care salons in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The company operates in two segments, Franchise Salons and Company-owned Salons. Its salons provide haircutting and styling, including shampooing and conditioning; hair coloring; and other services, as well as sells various hair care and other beauty products. The company also offers OpenSalon Pro, a back-office salon management system; and Opensalon mobile application. Regis Corporation operates its salons primarily under the SmartStyle, Supercuts, Cost Cutters, Roosters, and First Choice Haircutters names. As of June 30, 2021, the company operated 5,917 salons, such as 5,563 franchised salons, 276 company-owned salons, and 78 non-controlling ownership salons. It also operates accredited cosmetology schools. The company was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About Stride

Stride, Inc., a technology-based education service company, engages in the provision of proprietary and third-party online curriculum, software systems, and educational services in the United States and internationally. Its technology-based products and services enable clients to attract, enroll, educate, track progress, support, and facilitate individualized learning for students. The company offers integrated package of systems, services, products, and professional expertise to support a virtual or blended public school; software and services to schools and school districts; individual online courses and supplemental educational products; and products and services for the general education market focused on subjects, including math, English, science, and history for kindergarten through twelfth grade students. It also provides career learning products and services that are focused on developing skills to enter in industries, including information technology, health care, and business; and operates tuition-based private schools. In addition, the company offers focused post-secondary career learning programs, which include skills training for software engineering, healthcare, and medical fields to adult learners under Galvanize, Tech Elevator, and MedCerts brand names, as well as provides staffing and talent development services to employers. It serves public and private schools, school districts, charter boards, consumers, employers, and government agencies. The company was formerly known as K12 Inc. and changed its name to Stride, Inc. in December 2020. Stride, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.