Leslie's (LESL) Competitors

Leslie's (NASDAQ:LESL) and High Tide (NASDAQ:HITI) are both small-cap retail companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Does the media favor LESL or HITI?

In the previous week, Leslie's had 10 more articles in the media than High Tide. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Leslie's and 6 mentions for High Tide. High Tide's average media sentiment score of 0.24 beat Leslie's' score of 0.14 indicating that High Tide is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Leslie's	2 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
High Tide	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more volatility & risk, LESL or HITI?

Leslie's has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, High Tide has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of LESL or HITI?

4.5% of High Tide shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Leslie's shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.4% of High Tide shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has better valuation and earnings, LESL or HITI?

High Tide has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Leslie's. High Tide is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Leslie's, 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
Leslie's	$1.33B	0.04	-$23.38M	-$0.45	-0.70
High Tide	$381.22M	0.65	-$3.19M	-$0.08	-38.25

Do analysts prefer LESL or HITI?

Leslie's currently has a consensus target price of $1.60, indicating a potential upside of 406.33%. High Tide has a consensus target price of $4.75, indicating a potential upside of 55.23%. Given Leslie's' higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Leslie's is more favorable than High Tide.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Leslie's	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.90
High Tide	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is LESL or HITI more profitable?

High Tide has a net margin of -1.71% compared to Leslie's' net margin of -6.72%. Leslie's' return on equity of 0.00% beat High Tide's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Leslie's	-6.72%	N/A	-4.96%
High Tide	-1.71%	-6.45%	-3.93%

Summary

High Tide beats Leslie's on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.