Analyzing Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) and Shimano (OTCMKTS:SMNNY)

Johnson Outdoors (NASDAQ:JOUT) and Shimano (OTCMKTS:SMNNY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Johnson Outdoors and Shimano”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Johnson Outdoors	$562.53 million	0.68	-$26.53 million	($3.87)	-9.59
Shimano	$2.98 billion	2.76	$503.78 million	$0.37	25.38

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Johnson Outdoors and Shimano, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Johnson Outdoors	1	1	0	0	1.50
Shimano	0	0	0	0	0.00

Profitability

This table compares Johnson Outdoors and Shimano’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Johnson Outdoors	-7.02%	-8.80%	-6.30%
Shimano	10.72%	5.93%	5.46%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.1% of Johnson Outdoors shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Shimano shares are held by institutional investors. 28.0% of Johnson Outdoors shares are held by 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.

Volatility & Risk

Johnson Outdoors has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shimano has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Johnson Outdoors pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Shimano pays an annual dividend of $0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Johnson Outdoors pays out -34.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Shimano pays out 35.1% 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. Johnson Outdoors has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Johnson Outdoors is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Shimano beats Johnson Outdoors on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Johnson Outdoors

Johnson Outdoors Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets seasonal and outdoor recreational products for fishing worldwide. It operates through four segments: Fishing, Camping, Watercraft Recreation, and Diving. The Fishing segment offers electric motors for trolling, marine battery chargers, and shallow water anchors; sonar and GPS equipment for fish finding, navigation, and marine cartography; and downriggers for controlled-depth fishing. This segment sells its products under the Minn Kota, Humminbird, and Cannon brands through outdoor specialty and Internet retailers, retail store chains, original equipment manufacturers, and distributors. The Camping segment provides consumer, commercial, and military tents and accessories; camping stoves; other recreational camping products; and portable outdoor cooking systems. This segment sells its products under the Eureka! and Jetboil brands through specialty stores, sporting goods stores, internet retailers, and direct to consumers. The Watercraft Recreation segment offers kayaks, canoes, and paddles for family recreation, touring, angling, and tripping through independent specialty and outdoor retailers under Old Town and Carlisle brands. The Diving segment manufactures and markets underwater diving and snorkeling equipment, such as regulators, buoyancy compensators, dive computers and gauges, wetsuits, masks, fins, snorkels, and accessories through independent specialty dive stores and diving magazines under the SCUBAPRO brand name. This segment also provides regular maintenance, product repair, diving education, and travel program services; and sells diving gear to dive training centers, resorts, and public safety units. It sells its products through websites. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Racine, Wisconsin.

About Shimano

Shimano Inc. develops, produces, and distributes bicycle components, fishing tackles, and rowing equipment. It has operations in Japan, Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Oceania. Shimano Inc. was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Sakai, Japan.