Head to Head Contrast: Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) vs. The Unilever Group (OTCMKTS:UNLVF)

The Unilever Group (OTCMKTS:UNLVF) and Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

50.8% of Central Garden & Pet shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.3% of Central Garden & Pet shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares The Unilever Group and Central Garden & Pet”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Unilever Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Central Garden & Pet	$3.13 billion	0.76	$162.84 million	$2.75	13.79

Central Garden & Pet has higher revenue and earnings than The Unilever Group.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for The Unilever Group and Central Garden & Pet, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Unilever Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Central Garden & Pet	1	1	3	1	2.67

Central Garden & Pet has a consensus price target of $46.67, suggesting a potential upside of 23.10%. Given Central Garden & Pet’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Central Garden & Pet is more favorable than The Unilever Group.

Profitability

This table compares The Unilever Group and Central Garden & Pet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Unilever Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Central Garden & Pet	5.42%	11.55%	5.04%

Summary

Central Garden & Pet beats The Unilever Group on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The Unilever Group

The Unilever Group, together with its subsidiaries, operates in the fast-moving consumer goods industry worldwide. It operates through three segments: Beauty & Personal Care, Foods & Refreshment, and Home Care. The Beauty & Personal Care segment offers skin care and hair care products, deodorants, and skin cleansing products under the Axe, Clear, Dove, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pond's, Rexona, Signal, Suave, Sunsilk, TRESemmé, and Vaseline brands. The Foods & Refreshment segment offers soups, bouillons, seasonings, sauces, mayonnaise, ketchup, ice cream, and tea categories. This segment offers its products under the Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Brooke Bond, Heart (Wall's), Hellmann's, Knorr, Lipton, Magnum, Pukka, Sir Kensington's, and Unilever Food Solutions brands. The Home Care segment offers fabric solutions, home care products, and hygiene products under the Cif, Dirt is Good, Omo, Persil, Domestos, Seventh Generation, and Sunlight brands. The company was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co. engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on dog and cat supplies such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management and training pads, supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles and pet birds including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish, and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions. The Garden segment includes lawn and garden consumables such as grass, vegetable, flower and herb seed, wild bird feed, bird houses and other birding accessories, weed, grass, and other herbicides, insecticide and pesticide products, fertilizers, and live plants. The company was founded by William E. Brown in 1980 and is headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA.