Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE:NUS) versus Unicharm (OTCMKTS:UNICY) Financial Analysis

Unicharm (OTCMKTS:UNICY) and Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE:NUS) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Unicharm has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nu Skin Enterprises has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Unicharm and Nu Skin Enterprises, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Unicharm	0	2	0	0	2.00
Nu Skin Enterprises	1	1	0	0	1.50

Dividends

Unicharm pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nu Skin Enterprises pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Unicharm pays out 30.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nu Skin Enterprises pays out -5.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Nu Skin Enterprises is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Unicharm and Nu Skin Enterprises”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Unicharm	$6.32 billion	1.77	$436.93 million	$0.13	24.77
Nu Skin Enterprises	$1.49 billion	0.15	$160.20 million	($4.47)	-1.04

Unicharm has higher revenue and earnings than Nu Skin Enterprises. Nu Skin Enterprises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Unicharm, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Unicharm and Nu Skin Enterprises’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Unicharm	6.65%	7.19%	5.28%
Nu Skin Enterprises	-15.73%	6.58%	3.63%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

82.8% of Nu Skin Enterprises shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Nu Skin Enterprises shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Unicharm beats Nu Skin Enterprises on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Unicharm

Unicharm Corporation engages in the manufacturing and sale of wellness, feminine, baby and children, kirei, and pet care products in Japan and internationally. The company's baby and child care products, including disposable diapers and wipes under the Moony, MamyPoko, Oyasumiman, and Torepanman brands; feminine care products comprise napkins, tampons, panty liners, sanitary short, panty liners, and other feminine care products under the Sofy, Center-In, and Unicharm brand names; and wellness care products include napkin-type incontinence pads, pants-type diapers, tape-type diapers, pants-type specialized urine pads, and tape-type specialized urine pads under the Lifree and Charmnap brand. It also provides masks under the Unicharm brand; home care products, including cleaning sheets under the Wave brand name; cosmetic cotton and wet wipes under the Silcot brand; and paper towels under the Cook Up brand name. In addition, the company offers pet care products that include pet foods, excrement cleanup sheets, system toilets, and disposable diapers under the Grand Deli, Best Balance, Physicalife Dog, Silver Plate, Aiken Genki, Manner Wear, Deo Sheet, Silver Spoon, AllWell, Physicalife Cat, Deo Toilet, Deo Sand, Deo Clean, and Neko Genki brands; and deodorizing beads. Further, it is involved in the manufacture and sale of industrial materials related products, etc., as well as food-packaging materials. Unicharm Corporation was incorporated in 1941 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Nu Skin Enterprises

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and distribution of various beauty and wellness products worldwide. It offers skin care devices, cosmetics, and other personal care products, including ageLOC LumiSpa and ageLOC LumiSpa iO; and nutricentials skin care products. The company also provides wellness products, such as LifePak nutritional supplements, ageLOC TR90 weight management system, and Beauty Focus Collagen+. In addition, it is involved in the research and product development of skin care products and nutritional supplements. The company sells its products under the Nu Skin, Pharmanex, and ageLOC brands through retail stores, website, digital platforms, and independent direct sellers and marketers, as well as a service center. Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Provo, Utah.