Comparing lululemon athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) & Grasim Industries (OTCMKTS:GRSXY)

lululemon athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) and Grasim Industries (OTCMKTS:GRSXY) are both large-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

lululemon athletica has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grasim Industries has a beta of -0.22, indicating that its stock price is 122% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares lululemon athletica and Grasim Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
lululemon athletica	16.38%	42.05%	24.10%
Grasim Industries	2.71%	5.48%	1.75%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares lululemon athletica and Grasim Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
lululemon athletica	$10.59 billion	1.96	$1.81 billion	$14.71	11.88
Grasim Industries	$17.74 billion	0.75	$437.27 million	$0.73	26.71

lululemon athletica has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Grasim Industries. lululemon athletica is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Grasim Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

85.2% of lululemon athletica shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of lululemon athletica shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for lululemon athletica and Grasim Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
lululemon athletica	4	26	4	1	2.06
Grasim Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00

lululemon athletica currently has a consensus price target of $232.29, suggesting a potential upside of 32.88%. Given lululemon athletica’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe lululemon athletica is more favorable than Grasim Industries.

Summary

lululemon athletica beats Grasim Industries on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About lululemon athletica

Lululemon Athletica Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, distributes, and retails athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories under the lululemon brand for women and men. It offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities. It also provides fitness-inspired accessories. The company sells its products through a chain of company-operated stores; outlets; interactive workout platform; yoga and fitness studios, university campus retailers, and other partners; license and supply arrangements; and temporary locations, as well as through mobile apps and lululemon.com e-commerce website. It has operations in the United States, Canada, Mainland China, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau, Thailand, the Asia Pacific, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Lululemon Athletica Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

About Grasim Industries

Grasim Industries Limited operates in fibre, yarn, pulp, chemicals, textile, fertilizers, and insulators businesses in India and internationally. The company operates through Viscose, Chemicals, Cement, Financial Services, and Others segments. It provides viscose staple fiber, a man-made biodegradable fiber for use in apparels, home textiles, dress materials, knit wear products, and non-woven applications; wood pulp products; viscose filament yarn, a natural fibre for manufacturing fabrics such as georgettes, crepes, chiffons, and others; and textile products, such as linen and wool. The company offers various chemical products, including chlor-alkali and epoxy resin products. In addition, it provides electrical insulators for transmission lines and substations, as well as equipment and railways. Further, the company offers grey cement; white cement; ready mix concrete; and cement-based putty. Additionally, it provides various financial services comprising non-bank financial, life insurance, asset management, housing finance, equity broking, wealth management, general insurance advisory, and health insurance services. The company involved in solar power designing, engineering procurement, and commissioning business. Grasim Industries Limited was incorporated in 1947 and is based in Mumbai, India.