Analyzing Avolta (OTCMKTS:DUFRY) & Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC)

Avolta (OTCMKTS:DUFRY) and Marriott Vacations Worldwide (NYSE:VAC) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

89.5% of Marriott Vacations Worldwide shares are held by institutional investors. 13.3% of Marriott Vacations Worldwide shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Avolta and Marriott Vacations Worldwide, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avolta	0	1	0	1	3.00
Marriott Vacations Worldwide	3	2	7	0	2.33

Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a consensus target price of $83.70, suggesting a potential downside of 14.78%. Given Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Marriott Vacations Worldwide is more favorable than Avolta.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Avolta and Marriott Vacations Worldwide”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avolta	$16.60 billion	0.55	$240.19 million	N/A	N/A
Marriott Vacations Worldwide	$5.03 billion	0.67	-$308.00 million	($10.09)	-9.73

Avolta has higher revenue and earnings than Marriott Vacations Worldwide.

Volatility and Risk

Avolta has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marriott Vacations Worldwide has a beta of 1.25, meaning that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Avolta and Marriott Vacations Worldwide’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avolta	N/A	N/A	N/A
Marriott Vacations Worldwide	-6.72%	11.37%	2.58%

Summary

Marriott Vacations Worldwide beats Avolta on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avolta

Avolta AG operates as a travel retailer. The company’s retail brands include general travel retail shops under the Dufry, World Duty Free, Nuance, Hellenic Duty Free, Zurich Duty-Free or Stockholm Duty-Free, Autogrill, and HMSHost brands; Dufry shopping stores; brand boutiques; convenience stores primarily under the Hudson brand; and specialized shops and theme stores. It offers perfumes and cosmetics, food and confectionery, wines and spirits, watches and jewelry, fashion and leather, tobacco goods, souvenirs, electronics, soft drinks, packaged food, travel accessories, personal items, sunglasses, destination, and other products, as well as newspapers, magazines, and books. It operates duty-free and duty-paid shops located at airports, border, downtown and hotel shops, railway stations and other, cruise liners and ferries, seaports, and motorways in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company was formerly known as Dufry AG and changed its name to Avolta AG in November 2023. Avolta AG was incorporated in 1865 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.

About Marriott Vacations Worldwide

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation, a vacation company, develops, markets, sells, and manages vacation ownership and related businesses, products, and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Vacation Ownership and Exchange & Third-Party Management. The company manages vacation ownership and related products under the Marriott Vacation Club, Grand Residences by Marriott, Sheraton Vacation Club, Westin Vacation Club, Hyatt Vacation Club, and Marriott Vacation Club Pulse brands. It develops, markets, and sells vacation ownership and related products under The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club brand; and holds right to develop, market, and sell ownership residential products under The Ritz-Carlton Residences brand. In addition, the company offers exchange networks and membership programs, as well as provision of management services to other resorts and lodging properties through Interval International, and Aqua-Aston business brands. Further, it provides financing consumer purchases of vacation ownership products, and renting vacation ownership inventory. The company sells its upscale tier vacation ownership products primarily through a network of resort-based sales centers and off-site sales locations. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.