Head to Head Contrast: RideNow Group (NASDAQ:RDNW) & Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL)

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) and RideNow Group (NASDAQ:RDNW) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

66.1% of RideNow Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Leslie’s shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 55.3% of RideNow Group shares are owned 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.

Risk & Volatility

Leslie’s has a beta of 1.76, meaning that its share price is 76% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RideNow Group has a beta of 1.29, meaning that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Leslie’s and RideNow Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Leslie’s	$1.18 billion	0.00	-$236.97 million	($27.08)	-0.00
RideNow Group	$1.08 billion	0.17	-$52.40 million	($0.23)	-20.91

RideNow Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Leslie’s. RideNow Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Leslie’s, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Leslie’s and RideNow Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Leslie’s	-21.24%	N/A	-8.96%
RideNow Group	-0.76%	N/A	-1.17%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Leslie’s and RideNow Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Leslie’s	2	4	1	0	1.86
RideNow Group	1	2	0	0	1.67

Leslie’s currently has a consensus target price of $2.85, indicating a potential upside of 2,694.12%. RideNow Group has a consensus target price of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 76.72%. Given Leslie’s’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Leslie’s is more favorable than RideNow Group.

Summary

RideNow Group beats Leslie’s on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Leslie’s

Leslie’s, Inc. operates as a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand in the United States. The company markets and sells pool and spa supplies and related products and services. It also offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products. In addition, the company provides installation and repair services for pool and spa equipment. It also sells its products through e-commerce websites and third-party marketplaces. The company offers complimentary, commercial-grade in-store, water testing, and analysis services. It serves the residential, professional, and commercial consumers. Leslie’s, Inc. was founded in 1963 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

About RideNow Group

RumbleOn, Inc. primarily operates as a powersports retailer in the United States. It operates in two segments, Powersports and Vehicle Transportation Services. The Powersports segment provides new and pre-owned motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, utility terrain or side-by-side vehicles, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, and other powersports products. It also offers parts, apparel, accessories, finance and insurance products and services, and aftermarket products, as well as repair and maintenance services. The Vehicle Transportation Services segment provides asset-light transportation brokerage services facilitating automobile transportation. The company was formerly known as Smart Server, Inc. and changed its name to RumbleOn, Inc. in February 2017. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Irving, Texas.