Reviewing FitLife Brands (NASDAQ:FTLF) & Nanophase Technologies (OTCMKTS:NANX)

Nanophase Technologies (OTCMKTS:NANX) and FitLife Brands (NASDAQ:FTLF) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Nanophase Technologies and FitLife Brands, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nanophase Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00
FitLife Brands	0	2	2	0	2.50

FitLife Brands has a consensus target price of $21.50, suggesting a potential upside of 109.55%. Given FitLife Brands’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe FitLife Brands is more favorable than Nanophase Technologies.

Risk & Volatility

Nanophase Technologies has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FitLife Brands has a beta of 0.01, indicating that its stock price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Nanophase Technologies and FitLife Brands”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nanophase Technologies	$37.30 million	0.00	-$4.39 million	$0.05	N/A
FitLife Brands	$81.46 million	1.18	$6.33 million	$0.60	17.10

FitLife Brands has higher revenue and earnings than Nanophase Technologies. Nanophase Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than FitLife Brands, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Nanophase Technologies and FitLife Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nanophase Technologies	5.59%	31.49%	6.67%
FitLife Brands	6.64%	18.31%	8.21%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

70.2% of Nanophase Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.3% of FitLife Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of Nanophase Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 61.7% of FitLife Brands shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

FitLife Brands beats Nanophase Technologies on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nanophase Technologies

Nanophase Technologies Corporation, a science-driven company, develops, manufactures, and sells integrated family of nanomaterial technologies in the United States. It engages in engineered materials, formulation development, and commercial manufacturing. The company produces engineered nanomaterial products comprising antimony, bismuth, cerium, iron, and zinc oxide for use in a various markets, including surface finishing,exterior coatings, personal care, plastics, scratch resistant coatings, and textiles. It also provides skin care formulations with mineral-based UV protection under the under the Solésence brand; and advanced material products, including architectural coatings, industrial coatings, abrasion-resistant additives, plastics additives, medical diagnostics, and surface finishing technologies applications. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Romeoville, Illinois.

About FitLife Brands

FitLife Brands, Inc. provides nutritional supplements for health-conscious consumers in the United States and internationally. The company provides weight loss, sports nutrition, and general health products; sports nutrition products; weight loss and sports nutrition products; sports nutrition and general wellness formulations with an emphasis on natural, vegan, and organic ingredients; and male health and weight loss products, as well as other diet, health, and sports nutrition supplements and related products; and value-oriented sports nutrition and weight loss products. It offers MRC products which includes general health supplements; and natural skincare and beauty products. In addition, it markets its products under the brand names of NDS Nutrition, PMD Sports, SirenLabs, CoreActive, Nutrology, Metis Nutrition, iSatori, BioGenetic Laboratories, Energize, Dr. Tobias, All-Natural Advice, and Maritime Naturals through franchised stores, as well as through retail locations, which include specialty, mass, and online. The company was formerly known as Bond Laboratories, Inc. and changed its name to FitLife Brands, Inc. in September 2013. FitLife Brands, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.