Critical Comparison: Waldencast (NASDAQ:WALD) vs. L’Oreal (OTCMKTS:LRLCY)

Waldencast (NASDAQ:WALD) and L’Oreal (OTCMKTS:LRLCY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.0% of Waldencast shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of L’Oreal shares are held by institutional investors. 5.9% of Waldencast shares are held 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Waldencast and L’Oreal, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waldencast	1	1	2	0	2.25
L’Oreal	1	4	7	1	2.62

Waldencast currently has a consensus price target of $2.33, indicating a potential upside of 57.66%. Given Waldencast’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Waldencast is more favorable than L’Oreal.

Risk and Volatility

Waldencast has a beta of -0.13, meaning that its share price is 113% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, L’Oreal has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Waldencast and L’Oreal”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waldencast	$272.07 million	0.70	-$229.75 million	N/A	N/A
L’Oreal	$49.83 billion	4.80	$6.93 billion	N/A	N/A

L’Oreal has higher revenue and earnings than Waldencast.

Profitability

This table compares Waldencast and L’Oreal’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waldencast	N/A	N/A	N/A
L’Oreal	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

L’Oreal beats Waldencast on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Waldencast

Waldencast plc operates in the beauty and wellness business. The company engages in developing, acquiring, accelerating, and scaling various brands. It provides cosmetic, over-the-counter, and prescription products under the Obagi Medical, Obagi Clinical, and Obagi Professional brands; and a Skintrinsiq device for use in facial treatments that is used by physicians' offices, spas, and aestheticians. The company also offers clean makeup products under the Milk Makeup brand. It sells its products to dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and other physicians who focuses on aesthetic and therapeutic skincare, including physicians on site at medical spas, through its direct sales force, as well as through distribution partners. The company is headquartered in White Plains, New York.

About L’Oreal

L'Oréal S.A., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic products for women and men worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Consumer Products, L'oréal Luxe, Professional Products, and Dermatological Beauty. It offers skincare, make-up, hair colourants, haircare, perfumes, and hygiene products. The company provides its products under the L'Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline New York, NYX Professional Makeup, Stylenanda, Essie, Dark & Lovely, Mixa, Magic Mask, Niley, Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Armani, Kiehl's Since 1851, Helena Rubinstein, Biotherm, Shu Uemura, IT Cosmetics, Ralph Lauren Fragrance, Urban Decay, Mugler, Valentino, Viktor&Rolf, Azzaro, Prada, Cacharel, Maison Margela Fragrance, Diesel, Yue Sai, Atelier Colonge, Carita, Takami, Aesop, L'Oréal Professionnel Paris, Kérastase, Redken, Matrix, Pureology, Pulp Riot, La Roche-Posay, Vichy, CeraVe, SkinCeuticals, and Skinbetter Science brands. It sells its products through distribution channels, such as hair salons, local stores, e-commerce, travel retail, mass market retail, department store perfumeries, pharmacies, drug stores, medi-spas, and free-standing stores. L'Oréal S.A. was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Clichy, France.