Analyzing Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) and Funko (NASDAQ:FNKO)

Funko (NASDAQ:FNKO) and Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.2% of Funko shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.0% of Latham Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of Funko shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Latham Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Funko has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Funko and Latham Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Funko	1	1	0	0	1.50
Latham Group	2	3	2	0	2.00

Funko presently has a consensus target price of $6.83, indicating a potential upside of 16.21%. Latham Group has a consensus target price of $7.50, indicating a potential upside of 0.27%. Given Funko’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Funko is more favorable than Latham Group.

Profitability

This table compares Funko and Latham Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Funko	-0.21%	2.64%	0.71%
Latham Group	0.92%	1.32%	0.63%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Funko and Latham Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Funko	$908.21 million	0.36	-$67.36 million	($1.05)	-5.60
Latham Group	$545.91 million	1.61	$11.12 million	$0.05	149.60

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

Summary

Latham Group beats Funko on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Funko

Funko, Inc., a pop culture consumer products company, designs, sources, and distributes licensed pop culture products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides media and entertainment content, including movies, television (TV) shows, video games, music, and sports; figures, handbags, backpacks, wallets, apparel, accessories, plush products, homewares, and digital non-fungible tokens; and art prints and vinyl records, posters, soundtracks, toys, books, games, and other collectibles. It markets its products under the Pop!, Loungefly, Funko, Mystery Minis, Bitty Pop!, Funko action figures, Funko Plush, and Funko Soda brand names; and licenses its properties under the classic evergreen, movie release, current TV, and current video game categories. The company sells its products through specialty retailers, mass-market retailers, e-commerce sites, and distributors; and at specialty licensing and comic book shows, conventions, and exhibitions, as well as through its e-commerce business. Funko, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Everett, Washington.

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.