Reviewing FitLife Brands (NASDAQ:FTLF) and Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR)

Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) and FitLife Brands (NASDAQ:FTLF) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Nature’s Sunshine Products and FitLife Brands, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nature’s Sunshine Products	0	1	1	1	3.00
FitLife Brands	0	2	2	0	2.50

Nature’s Sunshine Products currently has a consensus price target of $34.50, indicating a potential upside of 110.62%. FitLife Brands has a consensus price target of $21.50, indicating a potential upside of 114.36%. Given FitLife Brands’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe FitLife Brands is more favorable than Nature’s Sunshine Products.

Profitability

This table compares Nature’s Sunshine Products and FitLife Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nature’s Sunshine Products	3.68%	12.88%	8.17%
FitLife Brands	6.64%	18.31%	8.21%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Nature’s Sunshine Products and FitLife Brands”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nature’s Sunshine Products	$480.14 million	0.60	$19.52 million	$1.01	16.22
FitLife Brands	$81.46 million	1.16	$6.33 million	$0.60	16.72

Nature’s Sunshine Products has higher revenue and earnings than FitLife Brands. Nature’s Sunshine Products is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than FitLife Brands, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.4% of Nature’s Sunshine Products shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.3% of FitLife Brands shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Nature’s Sunshine Products shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 61.7% of FitLife Brands shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Nature’s Sunshine Products has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FitLife Brands has a beta of 0.01, meaning that its stock price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

FitLife Brands beats Nature’s Sunshine Products on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nature’s Sunshine Products

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc., a natural health and wellness company, manufactures and sells nutritional and personal care products in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and internationally. It offers general health products related to blood sugar support, bone health, cellular health, cognitive function, joint health, mood, sexual health, sleep, sports and energy, and vision. The company also provides immunity, cardiovascular, and digestive products; and personal care products, such as oils and lotions, aloe vera gels, herbal shampoos, herbal skin treatment, toothpaste, and skin cleansers, as well as weight management products. It offers its products under the Nature’s Sunshine and Synergy WorldWide brands through a sales force of independent consultants. Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Lehi, Utah.

About FitLife Brands

FitLife Brands, Inc. provides nutritional supplements for health-conscious consumers in the United States and internationally. The company provides weight loss, sports nutrition, and general health products; sports nutrition products; weight loss and sports nutrition products; sports nutrition and general wellness formulations with an emphasis on natural, vegan, and organic ingredients; and male health and weight loss products, as well as other diet, health, and sports nutrition supplements and related products; and value-oriented sports nutrition and weight loss products. It offers MRC products which includes general health supplements; and natural skincare and beauty products. In addition, it markets its products under the brand names of NDS Nutrition, PMD Sports, SirenLabs, CoreActive, Nutrology, Metis Nutrition, iSatori, BioGenetic Laboratories, Energize, Dr. Tobias, All-Natural Advice, and Maritime Naturals through franchised stores, as well as through retail locations, which include specialty, mass, and online. The company was formerly known as Bond Laboratories, Inc. and changed its name to FitLife Brands, Inc. in September 2013. FitLife Brands, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.