Critical Comparison: PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) & Fire & Flower (OTCMKTS:FFLWF)

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) and Fire & Flower (OTCMKTS:FFLWF) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares PriceSmart and Fire & Flower’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PriceSmart	2.82%	12.16%	6.67%
Fire & Flower	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for PriceSmart and Fire & Flower, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PriceSmart	0	0	2	0	3.00
Fire & Flower	0	0	0	0	0.00

PriceSmart currently has a consensus target price of $198.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.87%. Given PriceSmart’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe PriceSmart is more favorable than Fire & Flower.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

80.5% of PriceSmart shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.0% of PriceSmart shares are owned 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares PriceSmart and Fire & Flower”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PriceSmart	$5.27 billion	1.06	$147.89 million	$5.21	34.59
Fire & Flower	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

PriceSmart has higher revenue and earnings than Fire & Flower.

Summary

PriceSmart beats Fire & Flower on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PriceSmart

PriceSmart, Inc. owns and operates U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. The company provides basic and private label consumer products under the Member's Selection brand, including groceries, cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids, meat, produce, deli, seafood, and poultry. It offers electronics, large and small appliances, automotive, hardware, sporting goods, seasonal products, clothing, domestics, and home furnishing products. In addition, the company offers food and bakery services, as well as health services, such as optical, audiology, and pharmacy. Further, it operates an e-commerce platform for online ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery services. PriceSmart, Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Fire & Flower

Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. operates as an independent cannabis retailer in Canada and the United States. It sells and distributes cannabis products and accessories to the adult-use market through private retailers, as well as under the Fire & Flower, Friendly Stranger, Happy Dayz, and Hotbox retail banners. The company also operates Hifyre digital retail and analytics platform; Spark Perks customer loyalty program; cannabis websites and content platforms under the PotGuide and Wikileaf names; and Pineapple Express, a delivery platform. Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.