Contrasting H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) and Brinker International (NYSE:EAT)

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) and H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

46.4% of H World Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Brinker International shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 49.4% of H World Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Brinker International and H World Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brinker International	0	6	17	1	2.79
H World Group	0	2	3	0	2.60

Brinker International presently has a consensus target price of $243.38, indicating a potential upside of 17.70%. H World Group has a consensus target price of $61.20, indicating a potential upside of 45.75%. Given H World Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe H World Group is more favorable than Brinker International.

Volatility and Risk

Brinker International has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, H World Group has a beta of 0.15, suggesting that its stock price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Brinker International and H World Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brinker International	8.39%	122.35%	17.42%
H World Group	18.90%	41.05%	8.07%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Brinker International and H World Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brinker International	$5.81 billion	1.49	$487.00 million	$10.89	18.99
H World Group	$3.62 billion	3.57	$726.00 million	$2.27	18.50

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

Summary

Brinker International beats H World Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brinker International

Brinker International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership, development, operation, and franchising of casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It operates and franchises Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands. The company also operates virtual brands, It's Just Wings. Brinker International, Inc. was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About H World Group

H World Group Limited develops leased and owned, manachised, and franchised hotels in the People's Republic of China. The company operates hotels under its own brands, such as HanTing Hotel, Ni Hao Hotel, Hi Inn, Elan Hotel, Zleep Hotels, Ibis Hotel, JI Hotel, Orange Hotel, Starway Hotel, Ibis Styles Hotel, CitiGO Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, IntercityHotel, Manxin Hotel, Mercure Hotel, Madison Hotel, Novotel Hotel, Joya Hotel, Blossom House, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX by Steigenberger, Jaz in the City, Grand Mercure, Steigenberger Icon, and Song Hotels. The company was formerly known as Huazhu Group Limited and changed its name to H World Group Limited in June 2022. H World Group Limited was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.