Contrasting Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR) and GEN Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:GENK)

Ark Restaurants (NASDAQ:ARKR) and GEN Restaurant Group (NASDAQ:GENK) are both small-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Ark Restaurants and GEN Restaurant Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ark Restaurants	-5.31%	0.14%	0.04%
GEN Restaurant Group	0.39%	1.83%	0.37%

Risk & Volatility

Ark Restaurants has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GEN Restaurant Group has a beta of 1.93, suggesting that its stock price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ark Restaurants and GEN Restaurant Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ark Restaurants	$183.55 million	0.22	-$5.93 million	($1.08)	-10.45
GEN Restaurant Group	$198.83 million	1.24	$8.41 million	$0.17	44.29

GEN Restaurant Group has higher revenue and earnings than Ark Restaurants. Ark Restaurants is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than GEN Restaurant Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Ark Restaurants and GEN Restaurant Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ark Restaurants	0	0	0	0	0.00
GEN Restaurant Group	0	0	3	0	3.00

GEN Restaurant Group has a consensus target price of $13.17, suggesting a potential upside of 74.86%. Given GEN Restaurant Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe GEN Restaurant Group is more favorable than Ark Restaurants.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

32.0% of Ark Restaurants shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.2% of GEN Restaurant Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 37.2% of Ark Restaurants shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 61.1% of GEN Restaurant Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

GEN Restaurant Group beats Ark Restaurants on 13 of the 14 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 GEN Restaurant Group

GEN Restaurant Group, Inc. operates restaurants in California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Texas, New York, and Florida. It offers meats, poultry, and seafood. The company was founded in 2011 and is based in Cerritos, California.