Head to Head Survey: Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) and WW International (NASDAQ:WW)

WW International (NASDAQ:WW) and Strategic Education (NASDAQ:STRA) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares WW International and Strategic Education’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WW International	-56.84%	N/A	-0.32%
Strategic Education	10.46%	8.98%	7.11%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares WW International and Strategic Education”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WW International	$710.64 million	0.23	-$112.25 million	($10.13)	-1.62
Strategic Education	$1.29 billion	1.38	$126.61 million	$6.00	13.28

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for WW International and Strategic Education, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WW International	1	1	0	0	1.50
Strategic Education	0	3	2	0	2.40

Strategic Education has a consensus target price of $95.33, suggesting a potential upside of 19.63%. Given Strategic Education’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Strategic Education is more favorable than WW International.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.2% of WW International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.3% of Strategic Education shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of WW International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Strategic Education shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

WW International has a beta of 1.73, indicating that its share price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Strategic Education has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Strategic Education beats WW International on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WW International

WW International, Inc. provides weight management products and services worldwide. It offers a range of nutritional, activity, behavioral, and lifestyle tools and approaches products and services. The company also provides various digital subscription products to wellness and weight management business, which provide interactive and personalized resources that allow users to follow its weight management program through its app and web-based platform; and allows members to inspire and support each other by sharing their experiences with other people on weight health journeys. In addition, it licenses its trademarks and other intellectual property in food, beverages, and other relevant consumer products and services, as well as provides publishing services. The company was formerly known as Weight Watchers International, Inc. and changed its name to WW International, Inc. in September 2019. WW International, Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Strategic Education

Strategic Education, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides education services through campus-based and online post-secondary education, and programs to develop job-ready skills. The company operates through U.S. Higher Education, Australia/New Zealand, and Education Technology Services segments. It operates Strayer University that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, criminal justice, education, health services, information technology, and public administration at physical campuses located in the eastern United States, as well as through online; non-degree web and mobile application development courses through Hackbright Academy and Devmountain; and MBA online through its Jack Welch Management Institute. In addition, the company operates Capella University that provides post-secondary education; Torrens University, which offers undergraduate, graduate, higher degree by research, and specialized degree courses primarily in business, design and creative technology, health, hospitality, and education fields through online and on physical campuses located in Australia; Think Education, a vocational training organization; and Media Design School, which provides industry-endorsed courses in 3D animation and visual effects, game art and programming, graphic and motion design, digital media artificial intelligence, and creative advertising in New Zealand. It also offers Workforce Edge, a platform to employers that provides education benefits administration solutions; and Sophia Learning, which enables lower cost education benefits programs. Strategic Education, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.