Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) versus Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) Head to Head Analysis

Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) and Six Flags Entertainment (NYSE:FUN) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Six Flags Entertainment has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.5% of Marriott Vacations Worldwide shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.7% of Six Flags Entertainment shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Marriott Vacations Worldwide shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Six Flags Entertainment shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Six Flags Entertainment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marriott Vacations Worldwide	3.44%	11.44%	2.83%
Six Flags Entertainment	-56.44%	9.64%	1.70%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Six Flags Entertainment”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marriott Vacations Worldwide	$4.97 billion	0.41	$218.00 million	$4.46	13.08
Six Flags Entertainment	$2.71 billion	0.55	-$231.16 million	($17.72)	-0.83

Marriott Vacations Worldwide has higher revenue and earnings than Six Flags Entertainment. Six Flags Entertainment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marriott Vacations Worldwide, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Six Flags Entertainment, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marriott Vacations Worldwide	4	1	4	0	2.00
Six Flags Entertainment	2	4	9	0	2.47

Marriott Vacations Worldwide presently has a consensus target price of $63.38, suggesting a potential upside of 8.68%. Six Flags Entertainment has a consensus target price of $28.07, suggesting a potential upside of 90.91%. Given Six Flags Entertainment’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Six Flags Entertainment is more favorable than Marriott Vacations Worldwide.

Summary

Marriott Vacations Worldwide beats Six Flags Entertainment on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, a vacation company, develops, markets, sells, and manages vacation ownership and related businesses, products, and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Vacation Ownership and Exchange & Third-Party Management. The company manages vacation ownership and related products under the Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, Hyatt Vacation Club, and Marriott Vacation Club Pulse brands. It develops, markets, and sells vacation ownership and related products under The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club brand; and holds right to develop, market, and sell ownership residential products under The Ritz-Carlton Residences brand. In addition, the company offers exchange networks and membership programs, as well as provision of management services to other resorts and lodging properties through Interval International, and Aqua-Aston business brands. Further, it provides financing consumer purchases of vacation ownership products, and renting vacation ownership inventory. The company sells its upscale tier vacation ownership products primarily through a network of resort-based sales centers and off-site sales locations. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About Six Flags Entertainment

Cedar Fair, L.P. owns and operates amusement and water parks, as well as complementary resort facilities. Its amusement parks include Cedar Point located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo in Sandusky, Ohio; Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles, California; Canada's Wonderland near Toronto, Ontario; Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina; Kings Dominion situated near Richmond, Virginia; California's Great America located in Santa Clara, California; Dorney Park in Pennsylvania; Worlds of Fun located in Kansas City, Missouri; Valleyfair situated near Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Michigan's Adventure situated near Muskegon, Michigan; Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resort New Braunfels in New Braunfels, Texas; and Schlitterbahn Waterpark Galveston in Galveston, Texas. The company also owns and operates the Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark Resort, Hotel Breakers, Cedar Point's Express Hotel, and Sawmill Creek Resort. Cedar Fair, L.P. was founded in 1983 and is based in Sandusky, Ohio.