Analyzing Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) and Henkel AG & Co. (OTCMKTS:HENKY)

Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) and Henkel AG & Co. (OTCMKTS:HENKY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Edgewell Personal Care and Henkel AG & Co.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Edgewell Personal Care	1.14%	7.85%	3.21%
Henkel AG & Co.	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Edgewell Personal Care and Henkel AG & Co.”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Edgewell Personal Care	$2.22 billion	0.41	$25.40 million	$0.52	37.54
Henkel AG & Co.	$23.36 billion	1.49	$2.17 billion	N/A	N/A

Henkel AG & Co. has higher revenue and earnings than Edgewell Personal Care.

Risk & Volatility

Edgewell Personal Care has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Henkel AG & Co. has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Edgewell Personal Care and Henkel AG & Co., as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Edgewell Personal Care	1	4	3	0	2.25
Henkel AG & Co.	0	2	0	2	3.00

Edgewell Personal Care presently has a consensus target price of $22.67, suggesting a potential upside of 16.12%. Given Edgewell Personal Care’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Edgewell Personal Care is more favorable than Henkel AG & Co..

Dividends

Edgewell Personal Care pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Henkel AG & Co. pays an annual dividend of $0.39 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Edgewell Personal Care pays out 115.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.9% of Edgewell Personal Care shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Henkel AG & Co. shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of Edgewell Personal Care shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Edgewell Personal Care beats Henkel AG & Co. on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Edgewell Personal Care

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other. Its Wet shave products are sold under the Schick, Wilkinson Sword, Edge, Skintimate, Shave Guard and Personna brand names. Its Sun and Skin Care products are sold under the Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic, Wet Ones and Playtex brand names and offers Wet Ones, portable hand wipes category, and Playtex household gloves, the branded household glove in the United States. Its Feminine Care segment markets its products under the Playtex, Stayfree, Carefree and o.b. brands and markets pads and liners. Its All Other segment includes infant care, pet care and miscellaneous other products.

About Henkel AG & Co.

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the adhesive technologies and beauty care, and laundry and home care businesses worldwide. It operates in two segments, Adhesive Technologies and Consumer Brands segments. The company offers adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings for various business areas, including packaging and consumer goods; mobility and electronics; and craftsmen, construction, and professional industries. It also provides hair styling, hair coloring, and hair care products; and body products, as well as distributes its products through brick-and-mortar stores, hair salons, and digital channels. In addition, the company offers heavy-duty and specialty detergents, fabric softeners, laundry performance enhancers, and other fabric care products; hand and automatic dishwashing products; cleaners for bathroom and toilet applications; household, glass, and specialty cleaners; and insect control products. The company was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.