Reviewing Sony (NYSE:SONY) & Bassett Furniture Industries (NASDAQ:BSET)

Sony (NYSE:SONY) and Bassett Furniture Industries (NASDAQ:BSET) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

14.1% of Sony shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.4% of Bassett Furniture Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 7.0% of Sony shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of Bassett Furniture Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Sony and Bassett Furniture Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sony	1	4	12	0	2.65
Bassett Furniture Industries	0	1	1	1	3.00

Sony presently has a consensus price target of $373.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,329.28%. Given Sony’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Sony is more favorable than Bassett Furniture Industries.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sony and Bassett Furniture Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sony	$82.90 billion	1.86	-$2.16 billion	$1.12	23.30
Bassett Furniture Industries	$335.28 million	0.60	$6.10 million	$0.79	29.54

Bassett Furniture Industries has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Sony. Sony is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bassett Furniture Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Sony pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Bassett Furniture Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Sony pays out 9.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bassett Furniture Industries pays out 101.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Bassett Furniture Industries has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Bassett Furniture Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

Sony has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bassett Furniture Industries has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Sony and Bassett Furniture Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sony	-2.00%	13.06%	5.22%
Bassett Furniture Industries	2.02%	4.36%	2.26%

About Sony

Sony Group Corporation designs, develops, produces, and sells electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for the consumer, professional, and industrial markets in Japan, the United States, Europe, China, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company distributes software titles and add-on content through digital networks; network services related to game, video, and music content; and home gaming consoles, packaged and game software, and peripheral devices. It also develops, produces, markets, and distributes recorded music; publishes music; and produces and distributes animation titles, game applications, and various services for music and visual products. In addition, the company produces, acquires, and distributes live-action and animated motion pictures for theatrical release, as well as scripted and animated series, unscripted reality or light entertainment, daytime serials, game shows, television movies, and miniseries and other television programs; operation of television networks and direct-to-consumer streaming services; operates a visual effects and animation unit; and manages a studio facility. Further, it researches, develops, designs, produces, markets, distributes, sells, and services televisions, and video and sound products; interchangeable lens, as well as compact digital, and consumer and professional video cameras; projectors and medical equipment; mobile phones, accessories, and applications; and metal oxide semiconductor image sensors, charge-coupled devices, integration systems, and other semiconductors. Additionally, it offers Internet broadband network services; recording media, and storage media products; and life and non-life insurance, banking, and other services, as well as creates and distributes content for PCs and mobile phones. The company was formerly known as Sony Corporation and changed its name to Sony Group Corporation in April 2021. Sony Group Corporation was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Bassett Furniture Industries

Bassett Furniture Industries, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and retails home furnishings in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Wholesale, Retail Company-Owned Stores, and Corporate and Other. The company engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, sale, and distribution of furniture products, including dining, bedroom and bedding, home decorations, rugs, and outdoor furniture to a network of company-owned retail stores, licensee-owned stores, and independent retailers. The company also distributes its products through multi-line furniture stores, including Bassett galleries or design centers, as well as sells online; and engages in wood and upholstery operations. In addition, it owns and leases land, retail store properties, warehouses, and distribution centers. Bassett Furniture Industries, Incorporated was founded in 1902 and is based in Bassett, Virginia.