Comparing Flexsteel Industries (NASDAQ:FLXS) & Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR)

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) and Flexsteel Industries (NASDAQ:FLXS) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Whirlpool has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Flexsteel Industries has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Whirlpool and Flexsteel Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Whirlpool	1.17%	4.18%	0.82%
Flexsteel Industries	6.79%	16.10%	9.91%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.8% of Whirlpool shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.3% of Flexsteel Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Whirlpool shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.2% of Flexsteel Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Whirlpool and Flexsteel Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Whirlpool	3	7	1	0	1.82
Flexsteel Industries	0	1	1	0	2.50

Whirlpool currently has a consensus price target of $46.88, suggesting a potential upside of 8.57%. Given Whirlpool’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Whirlpool is more favorable than Flexsteel Industries.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Whirlpool and Flexsteel Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Whirlpool	$15.52 billion	0.18	$318.00 million	$2.92	14.79
Flexsteel Industries	$441.07 million	0.93	$20.15 million	$5.52	13.80

Whirlpool has higher revenue and earnings than Flexsteel Industries. Flexsteel Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Whirlpool, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Flexsteel Industries beats Whirlpool on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Whirlpool

Whirlpool Corporation manufactures and markets home appliances and related products and services in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The company's principal products include refrigerators, freezers, ice makers, and refrigerator water filters; laundry appliances, and commercial laundry products and related laundry accessories; cooking and other small domestic appliances; and dishwasher appliances and related accessories, as well as mixers. It markets and distributes its products primarily under the Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, JennAir, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Hotpoint, Indesit, InSinkErator, Yummly, Affresh, Gladiator, Swash, everydrop, Ignis, Privileg, Eslabon de Lujo, and Acros brands. The company sells its products to retailers, distributors, dealers, builders, and other manufacturers, as well as directly to consumers. Whirlpool Corporation was founded in 1911 and is headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

About Flexsteel Industries

Flexsteel Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a manufacturer, importer, and markets of upholstered furniture for residential and contract markets in the United States. It provides upholstered furniture, such as sofas, loveseats, chairs, reclining rocking chairs, swivel rockers, sofa beds, convertible bedding units, occasional tables, desks, dining tables and chairs, kitchen storage, bedroom furniture, and outdoor furniture. The company distributes its products through e-commerce channels and dealer sales force. It also engages in export related activities. Flexsteel Industries, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is based in Dubuque, Iowa.