Analyzing Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) and Unilever (NYSE:UL)

Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) and Unilever (NYSE:UL) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.2% of Warby Parker shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.7% of Unilever shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.2% of Warby Parker shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Unilever shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Warby Parker and Unilever”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Warby Parker	$771.32 million	2.97	-$20.39 million	($0.12)	-182.43
Unilever	$65.76 billion	2.27	$6.22 billion	$3.49	17.46

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

Risk and Volatility

Warby Parker has a beta of 2.1, indicating that its stock price is 110% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Unilever has a beta of 0.43, indicating that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Warby Parker and Unilever, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Warby Parker	0	7	11	0	2.61
Unilever	1	2	4	2	2.78

Warby Parker currently has a consensus target price of $22.88, indicating a potential upside of 4.49%. Unilever has a consensus target price of $70.67, indicating a potential upside of 15.99%. Given Unilever’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Unilever is more favorable than Warby Parker.

Profitability

This table compares Warby Parker and Unilever’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Warby Parker	-1.79%	-2.48%	-1.29%
Unilever	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Unilever beats Warby Parker on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Warby Parker

Warby Parker Inc. provides eyewear products in the United States and Canada. The company offers eyeglasses, sunglasses, light-responsive lenses, blue-light-filtering lenses, non-prescription lenses, and contact lenses. It also provides accessories, such as cases, lenses kit with anti-fog spray, pouches, and anti-fog lens spray through its retail stores, website, and mobile apps. In addition, the company offers eye exams and vision tests. Warby Parker Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements. The Personal Care segment offers skin cleansing products comprising soap and shower; deodorants; and oral care products, such as toothpaste, toothbrush, and mouthwash products. The Home Care segment is involved in the sale of fabric care products, including washing powders and liquids, and rinse conditioners; and fabric enhancers, and home and hygiene products. The Nutrition segment provides dressings products, such as mayonnaise and ketchup; sells scratch cooking aids consist of soups, bouillons, and seasonings; plant-based meat; beverages; and functional nutrition products, including Horlicks and Boost, as well as tea products. The Ice Cream segment offers ice cream products including in-home and out-of-home ice creams. The company provides its products under the AXE, Ben & Jerry's, Cif, Clear, Closeup, Comfort, Cornetto, Dermalogica, Domestos, Dove, Dove Men+Care, Hellmann's, Horlicks, Knorr, LUX, Lifebuoy, Liquid I.V., Magnum, Nutrafol, OMO, Paula's Choice, Pepsodent, Pond's, Rexona, Rexona, Sunlight, Sunsilk, Surf, TRESemmé, Vaseline, Wall's, Breyers, and Yasso brand names. Unilever PLC was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.