Contrasting Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR) and Giggles N’ Hugs (OTCMKTS:GIGL)

Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR) and Giggles N’ Hugs (OTCMKTS:GIGL) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Ark Restaurants and Giggles N’ Hugs, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ark Restaurants	1	0	0	0	1.00
Giggles N’ Hugs	0	0	0	0	0.00

Volatility and Risk

Ark Restaurants has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Giggles N’ Hugs has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ark Restaurants and Giggles N’ Hugs”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ark Restaurants	$165.75 million	0.14	-$11.47 million	($3.18)	-2.02
Giggles N’ Hugs	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Giggles N’ Hugs has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ark Restaurants.

Profitability

This table compares Ark Restaurants and Giggles N’ Hugs’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ark Restaurants	-6.92%	-18.53%	-4.99%
Giggles N’ Hugs	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

32.0% of Ark Restaurants shares are held by institutional investors. 35.7% of Ark Restaurants shares are held 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.

Summary

Ark Restaurants beats Giggles N’ Hugs on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ark Restaurants

Ark Restaurants Corp., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates restaurants and bars in the United States. It operates restaurants in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas, Nevada; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Florida; and Alabama, as well as fast food concepts and catering operations. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is based in New York, New York.

About Giggles N’ Hugs

Giggles N’ Hugs, Inc. engages in the ownership and operation of restaurants. It offers an upscale family-friendly atmosphere with a play area dedicated to children ages 10 and younger. The restaurant has a menu made from fresh, organic foods with the play elements and entertainment. The company was founded by Joey Parsi and Dorsa Foroughi on September 17, 2004 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.