Ituran Location and Control (ITRN) Competitors

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) and Ituran Location and Control (NASDAQ:ITRN) are both wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, risk, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Do analysts recommend CENT or ITRN?

Central Garden & Pet presently has a consensus price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.37%. Ituran Location and Control has a consensus price target of $50.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.47%. Given Ituran Location and Control's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ituran Location and Control is more favorable than Central Garden & Pet.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Central Garden & Pet	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Ituran Location and Control	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media favor CENT or ITRN?

In the previous week, Central Garden & Pet had 4 more articles in the media than Ituran Location and Control. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Central Garden & Pet and 4 mentions for Ituran Location and Control. Ituran Location and Control's average media sentiment score of 1.68 beat Central Garden & Pet's score of 0.47 indicating that Ituran Location and Control is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Central Garden & Pet	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Ituran Location and Control	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, CENT or ITRN?

Central Garden & Pet has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ituran Location and Control has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in CENT or ITRN?

16.1% of Central Garden & Pet shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8% of Ituran Location and Control shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.2% of Central Garden & Pet shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Ituran Location and Control shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is CENT or ITRN more profitable?

Ituran Location and Control has a net margin of 16.35% compared to Central Garden & Pet's net margin of 3.90%. Ituran Location and Control's return on equity of 29.19% beat Central Garden & Pet's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Central Garden & Pet	3.90%	10.14%	4.40%
Ituran Location and Control	16.35%	29.19%	16.95%

Which has higher valuation & earnings, CENT or ITRN?

Central Garden & Pet has higher revenue and earnings than Ituran Location and Control. Ituran Location and Control is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Central Garden & Pet, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Central Garden & Pet	$3.20B	0.81	$107.98M	$1.87	21.10
Ituran Location and Control	$336.26M	2.28	$53.65M	$2.78	13.89

Summary

Ituran Location and Control beats Central Garden & Pet on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.