Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) versus Luvu Brands (OTCMKTS:LUVU) Head to Head Analysis

Advantage Solutions (NASDAQ:ADV) and Luvu Brands (OTCMKTS:LUVU) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Advantage Solutions has a beta of 2.21, meaning that its share price is 121% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Luvu Brands has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

49.8% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 9.4% of Advantage Solutions shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 45.9% of Luvu Brands shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Advantage Solutions and Luvu Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Advantage Solutions	-6.78%	-37.22%	-7.93%
Luvu Brands	-4.23%	-53.41%	-10.68%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Advantage Solutions and Luvu Brands”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Advantage Solutions	$3.54 billion	0.14	-$227.74 million	($18.74)	-2.00
Luvu Brands	$24.69 million	0.09	-$450,000.00	($0.01)	-3.00

Luvu Brands has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Advantage Solutions. Luvu Brands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Advantage Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Advantage Solutions and Luvu Brands, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Advantage Solutions	1	2	1	0	2.00
Luvu Brands	0	0	0	0	0.00

Advantage Solutions currently has a consensus target price of $34.38, suggesting a potential downside of 8.19%. Given Advantage Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Advantage Solutions is more favorable than Luvu Brands.

Summary

Advantage Solutions beats Luvu Brands on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Advantage Solutions

Advantage Solutions Inc. provides business solutions to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers in North America and internationally. It operates in two segments, Sales and Marketing. The Sales segment offers brand-centric services, such as headquarter relationship management; analytics, insights, and intelligence; and brand-centric merchandising services. This segment also provides retailer-centric services comprising retailer-centric merchandising and in-store media services. The Marketing segment offers brand-centric services, including shopper and consumer marketing, and brand experiential services; retailer-centric services, such as retail experiential and private label services; and digital marketing, and digital media and advertising services. The company was formerly known as Karman Holding Corp. and changed its name to Advantage Solutions Inc. in March 2016. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

About Luvu Brands

Luvu Brands, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets various consumer lifestyle products worldwide. The company offers sensuality and intimacy products under the Liberator brand; and bed therapy products, which assistive in relieving medical conditions associated with acid reflux, surgery recovery, and chronic pain under the Avana brand. It also provides daybeds, sofas, and beanbags made from virgin and re-purposed polyurethane foam under the Jaxx brand. In addition, the company is involved in the purchase and resale of products to e-merchants, retailers, and e-commerce sites, as well as provision of contract manufacturing and fulfillment services. It markets its products through various websites comprising liberator.com, jaxxliving.com, and avanacomfort.com, as well as through distributors, retailers, and e-tailers across various channels of adult, mass market, drug, and specialty accounts. The company was formerly known as Liberator, Inc. and changed its name to Luvu Brands, Inc. in November 2015. Luvu Brands, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.