Comparing Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) & Chegg (NYSE:CHGG)

Chegg (NYSE:CHGG) and Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Chegg has a beta of 2.16, indicating that its share price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carriage Services has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Chegg and Carriage Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chegg	$376.91 million	0.22	-$103.42 million	($0.49)	-1.50
Carriage Services	$417.44 million	1.37	$51.51 million	$2.79	12.95

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

Profitability

This table compares Chegg and Carriage Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chegg	-19.96%	-13.38%	-6.00%
Carriage Services	10.69%	19.23%	3.71%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.2% of Chegg shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.5% of Carriage Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of Chegg shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Carriage Services shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Chegg and Carriage Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chegg	1	2	0	0	1.67
Carriage Services	1	1	2	0	2.25

Carriage Services has a consensus target price of $50.00, suggesting a potential upside of 38.43%. Given Carriage Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Carriage Services is more favorable than Chegg.

Summary

Carriage Services beats Chegg on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chegg

Chegg, Inc. operates a direct-to-student learning platform that helps learners build essential life and job skills to accelerate their path from learning programs in the United States and internationally. Its subscription services include Chegg Study, which offers personalized step-by-step learning support from AI, computational engines, and subject matter experts, as well as Tinger Gold and DashPash Student services; Chegg Writing that provides students with a suite of tools, such as plagiarism detection scans, grammar and writing fluency checking, expert personalized writing feedback, and premium citation generation; Chegg Math, a step-by-step math problem solver and calculator that helps students to solve problems; Chegg Study Pack, a bundle of various subscription product offerings, including Chegg Study, Chegg Writing, and Chegg Math services; and Busuu, an online language learning platform that offers comprehensive support through self-paced lessons, live classes with expert tutors, and a community of members to practice alongside. The company also provides a skills-based learning platform to learn technical skills comprising AI, coding, data analytics, and cybersecurity, as well as competencies consisting of emotional intelligence, mindset, emerging leadership, and decision making. In addition, it rents and sells print textbooks and eTextbooks; and offers advertising services. The company serves students and companies through direct marketing channels and social media. Chegg, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

About Carriage Services

Carriage Services, Inc. provides funeral and cemetery services, and merchandise in the United States. It operates in two segments, Funeral Home Operations and Cemetery Operations. The Funeral Home Operations segment provides consultation services; funeral home facilities for visitation and memorial services; transportation services; removal and preparation of remains; sale of caskets and urns; cremation services; and related funeral merchandise. The Cemetery Operations segment sells interment rights for grave sites, lawn crypts, mausoleum spaces, and niches; related cemetery merchandise, including memorial markers, outer burial containers, and monuments; and interments, inurnments, and installation of cemetery merchandise services. Carriage Services, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is based in Houston, Texas.