Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) vs. Primo Brands (NYSE:PRMB) Critical Comparison

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) and Primo Brands (NYSE:PRMB) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Monster Beverage and Primo Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Monster Beverage	21.66%	23.31%	18.48%
Primo Brands	13.63%	8.80%	3.62%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Monster Beverage and Primo Brands, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Monster Beverage	2	7	12	0	2.48
Primo Brands	0	0	3	0	3.00

Monster Beverage presently has a consensus target price of $55.47, suggesting a potential upside of 12.25%. Primo Brands has a consensus target price of $37.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.91%. Given Primo Brands’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Primo Brands is more favorable than Monster Beverage.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

72.4% of Monster Beverage shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.7% of Primo Brands shares are held by institutional investors. 7.8% of Monster Beverage shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.5% of Primo Brands shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Monster Beverage has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Primo Brands has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Monster Beverage and Primo Brands”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Monster Beverage	$7.41 billion	6.49	$1.63 billion	$1.56	31.68
Primo Brands	$1.77 billion	7.02	$238.10 million	$1.61	20.35

Monster Beverage has higher revenue and earnings than Primo Brands. Primo Brands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Monster Beverage, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Monster Beverage beats Primo Brands on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other. It offers carbonated non-carbonated energy drinks, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters, and sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices, and flavored sparkling beverages. The company sells its products to full service beverage bottlers/distributors, retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, food service customers, value stores, e-commerce retailers, and the military; and concentrates and/or beverage bases to authorized bottling and canning operations. It provides its products under the Monster Energy, Monster Energy Ultra, Monster Rehab, Monster Energy Nitro, Java Monster, Punch Monster, Juice Monster, Muscle Monster, Espresso Monster, Monster Tour Water, Fury, Monster MAXX, Caffe Monster, Monster Hydro, Monster HydroSport Super Fuel, Monster Dragon Tea, Reign Total Body Fuel, and Reign Inferno Thermogenic Fuel, Reign Storm, Bang Energy, NOS, Full Throttle, Burn, Mother, Nalu, Ultra Energy, Play and Power Play (stylized), Relentless, BPM, BU, Gladiator, Samurai, Live+, Predator, and Fury brands. The company was formerly known as Hansen Natural Corporation and changed its name to Monster Beverage Corporation in January 2012. Monster Beverage Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Corona, California.

About Primo Brands

Primo Water Corporation is a leading pure-play water solutions provider in North America and Europe. Primo operates largely under a recurring razor/razorblade revenue model. The razor in Primo’s revenue model is its industry leading line-up of sleek and innovative water dispensers, which are sold through major retailers and online at various price points or leased to customers. The dispensers help increase household penetration, which drives recurring purchases of Primo’s razorblade offering. Primo’s razorblade offering is comprised of Water Direct, Water Exchange, and Water Refill. Primo’s water solutions expand consumer access to purified, spring and mineral water to promote a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle while simultaneously reducing plastic waste and pollution. Primo is committed to its water stewardship standards and is proud to partner with the International Bottled Water Association in North America as well as with Watercoolers Europe.