FST (NASDAQ:KBSX – Get Free Report) and Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares FST and Latham Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| FST | $47.97 million | 0.79 | -$1.50 million | ($0.01) | -99.94 |
| Latham Group | $545.91 million | 1.48 | $11.12 million | $0.05 | 137.60 |
Volatility and Risk
FST has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Latham Group has a beta of 1.65, indicating that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
50.9% of FST shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.0% of Latham Group shares are held by institutional investors. 54.6% of FST shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Latham Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares FST and Latham Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| FST | -0.90% | 1.66% | 0.40% |
| Latham Group | 0.92% | 1.31% | 0.63% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for FST and Latham Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| FST | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Latham Group | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.86 |
FST presently has a consensus price target of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 300.24%. Latham Group has a consensus price target of $7.83, suggesting a potential upside of 13.86%. Given FST’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe FST is more favorable than Latham Group.
Summary
Latham Group beats FST on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
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.
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