Contrasting Traeger (NYSE:COOK) and Maison Solutions (NASDAQ:MSS)

Traeger (NYSE:COOK) and Maison Solutions (NASDAQ:MSS) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Traeger and Maison Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Traeger	-5.00%	-3.12%	-1.07%
Maison Solutions	-1.18%	-11.72%	-1.60%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Traeger and Maison Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Traeger	$604.07 million	0.45	-$34.01 million	($0.23)	-8.74
Maison Solutions	$58.04 million	0.31	-$3.34 million	($0.07)	-13.00

Maison Solutions has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Traeger. Maison Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Traeger, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Traeger and Maison Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Traeger	1	4	2	0	2.14
Maison Solutions	0	0	0	0	0.00

Traeger presently has a consensus target price of $2.44, indicating a potential upside of 21.27%. Given Traeger’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Traeger is more favorable than Maison Solutions.

Risk & Volatility

Traeger has a beta of 1.46, indicating that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Maison Solutions has a beta of 5, indicating that its stock price is 400% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

46.8% of Traeger shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.4% of Maison Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.7% of Traeger shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Traeger beats Maison Solutions on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Traeger

Traeger, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, sources, sells, and supports wood pellet fueled barbecue grills for retailers, distributors, and direct to consumers in the United States. Its wood pellet grills are internet of things devices that allow owners to program, monitor, and control their grill through its Traeger app. The company also produces a library of digital content, including instructional recipes and videos that demonstrate tips, tricks, and cooking techniques that empower Traeger owners to progress their cooking skills; and short- and long-form branded content highlighting stories, community members, and lifestyle content from the Traegerhood. In addition, it provides wood pellets that are used to fire the grills; rubs, spices, and sauces; accessories, such as pop-and-lock accessory rail covers, drip trays, bucket liners, storage bins, and shelves; tools to aid in meal prep, cooking, and cleanup, including pellet storage systems, cleaning solutions, barbecue tools, and MEATER smart thermometer; replacement parts; and apparel and merchandise, including t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, and baseball hats. Traeger, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Maison Solutions

Maison Solutions Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as the specialty grocery retailer in California. The company offers perishable products, such as meat, seafood, vegetables, and fruit; non-perishable products, including grocery products comprising cooking utensils, canned foods, Chinese and Asian seasonings and spices, and snacks, as well as liquor, cigarette, lottery, newspaper, reusable bag, non-food, and health products, and general merchandise, beauty care, pharmacy, fuel, and other items and services in its stores. It also offers its products online. The company was formerly known as Maison International, Inc. and changed its name to Maison Solutions Inc. in September 2021. Maison Solutions Inc. was incorporated in 2019 and is based in Monterey Park, California.