Critical Analysis: School Specialty (OTCMKTS:SCOO) and Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB)

Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) and School Specialty (OTCMKTS:SCOO) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Spectrum Brands and School Specialty, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spectrum Brands	0	2	5	0	2.71
School Specialty	0	0	0	0	0.00

Spectrum Brands presently has a consensus price target of $83.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.68%. Given Spectrum Brands’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Spectrum Brands is more favorable than School Specialty.

Volatility & Risk

Spectrum Brands has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, School Specialty has a beta of -80.4, meaning that its stock price is 8,140% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Spectrum Brands and School Specialty”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spectrum Brands	$2.81 billion	0.61	$99.70 million	$4.33	17.01
School Specialty	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Spectrum Brands has higher revenue and earnings than School Specialty.

Profitability

This table compares Spectrum Brands and School Specialty’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spectrum Brands	3.76%	7.65%	4.18%
School Specialty	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Spectrum Brands beats School Specialty on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spectrum Brands

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. operates as a branded consumer products and home essentials company in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. It operates through three segments: Home and Personal Care; Global Pet Care; and Home and Garden. The Home and Personal Care segment provides home appliances under the Black & Decker, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, PowerXL, Emeril Legasse, Copper Chef, Toastmaster, Juiceman, Farberware, and Breadman brands; and personal care products under the Remington brand. The Global Pet Care segment provides dog and cat chews, treats, wet and dry foods, dog and cat clean-up and food, training, health and grooming, indoor birds, and small animal food and care products under the Good'n'Fun, DreamBone, GOOD BOY, SmartBones, IAMS, EUKANUBA, Nature's Miracle, FURminator, Dingo, 8IN1, Meowee!, and Wild Harvest brands. This segment also offers aquarium kits, stand-alone tanks, and aquatics equipment and consumables under the Tetra, Marineland, Instant Ocean, GloFish, and OmegaSea brands. The Home and Garden segment provides outdoor insect and weed control solutions, and animal repellents under the Spectracide, Garden Safe, Liquid Fence, and EcoLogic brands; household pest control solutions under the Hot Shot, Black Flag, Real-Kill, Ultra Kill, The Ant Trap, and Rid-A-Bug brand names; household surface cleaning, maintenance, and restoration products, including bottled liquids, mops, wipes, and markers under the Rejuvenate brand name; and personal-use pesticides and insect repellent products under the Cutter and Repel brands. The company sells its products through retailers, e-commerce and online retailers, wholesalers, and distributors. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

About School Specialty

School Specialty, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides supplies, furniture, technology products, and curriculum solutions to the education marketplace in the United States and Canada. The company’s Distribution segment offers office products, classroom supplies, janitorial and sanitation supplies, school equipment, school and student safety and security products and services, physical education products, art supplies and paper, and others; physical education programs, solutions, resources, and equipment to improve student and staff wellness; and science education products, supplemental curriculum, and lab equipment and supplies. It also provides supplemental learning materials, teaching resources, classroom libraries, and manipulatives; intervention products; educator-inspired quality audio technology products, including multi-media, audio visual, and presentation equipment for the PreK-12 education market; and school-specific furniture and equipment for in-school, in-classroom, and outdoor use, as well as project management and design services for school refurbishment and new construction projects. This segment offers its products under the Childcraft, Sax Arts & Crafts, Califone, Classroom Select, Sportime, Abilitations, Hammond & Stephens, Brodhead Garrett, School Smart, Royal Seating, Projects by Design, CPO Science, Frey Scientific, Educator’s Publishing Service, Wordly Wise 3000, Explode the Code, ThinkMath!, SSI Guardian, Making Connections, S.P.I.R.E, Buckle Down, and Coach brands. Its Curriculum segment develops and sells standards-based curriculum science products, such as laboratory supplies and equipment, and furniture under the FOSS, Frey Scientific, Delta Science Module, Delta Education, CPO Science, and Neo/SCI brand names. The company offers its products through its sales force, catalogs, and its proprietary e-commerce Websites. School Specialty, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Greenville, Wisconsin.