FST (NASDAQ:KBSX) vs. Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) Head-To-Head Contrast

Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) and FST (NASDAQ:KBSX) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Latham Group and FST’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Latham Group	0.92%	1.31%	0.63%
FST	-0.90%	1.66%	0.40%

Volatility & Risk

Latham Group has a beta of 1.72, suggesting that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FST has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Latham Group and FST”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Latham Group	$545.91 million	1.53	$11.12 million	$0.05	142.00
FST	$47.97 million	0.76	-$1.50 million	($0.01)	-96.60

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Latham Group and FST, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Latham Group	3	2	2	0	1.86
FST	1	0	1	0	2.00

Latham Group presently has a consensus target price of $7.83, suggesting a potential upside of 10.33%. FST has a consensus target price of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 314.08%. Given FST’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe FST is more favorable than Latham Group.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

84.0% of Latham Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.9% of FST shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Latham Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 54.6% of FST shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Latham Group beats FST on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Latham Group

Latham Group, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets in-ground residential swimming pools in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. It offers a portfolio of pools and related products, including in-ground swimming pools that include fiber glass and packaged pools; and pool covers and liners under the Latham, Narellan, CoverStar, Radiant, and GLI brand names. The company was formerly known as Latham Topco, Inc. and changed its name to Latham Group, Inc. in March 2021. Latham Group, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Latham, New York.

About FST

FST Corp. designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes steel golf shafts to golf club original equipment manufacturers and distributors worldwide. The company offers steel shafts under the KBS brand name. FST Corp.is based in Chiayi, Taiwan.