Critical Contrast: Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) versus National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE)

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) and Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Volatility & Risk

National Vision has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Albertsons Companies has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares National Vision and Albertsons Companies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Vision	$1.82 billion	1.03	-$28.50 million	($0.03)	-790.00
Albertsons Companies	$80.39 billion	0.12	$958.60 million	$1.69	10.77

Albertsons Companies has higher revenue and earnings than National Vision. National Vision is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Albertsons Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.4% of Albertsons Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of National Vision shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Albertsons Companies shares are owned by company 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 recent recommendations for National Vision and Albertsons Companies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Vision	1	4	6	0	2.45
Albertsons Companies	1	5	10	0	2.56

National Vision presently has a consensus price target of $24.91, suggesting a potential upside of 5.10%. Albertsons Companies has a consensus price target of $23.43, suggesting a potential upside of 28.67%. Given Albertsons Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Albertsons Companies is more favorable than National Vision.

Profitability

This table compares National Vision and Albertsons Companies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Vision	-0.12%	3.58%	1.52%
Albertsons Companies	1.20%	36.39%	4.45%

Summary

Albertsons Companies beats National Vision on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Vision

National Vision Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an optical retailer in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Owned & Host and Legacy. It offers eyeglasses and contact lenses, and optical accessory products; provides eye exams through its America’s Best, Eyeglass World, Vista Optical, Fred Meyer, and Vista Optical military, as well as Vision Center branded stores; and offers health maintenance organization and optometric services. National Vision Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of food and drug stores in the United States. The company’s food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmacy, fuel, and other items and services. It also manufactures and processes food products for sale in stores. It operates stores under various banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Haggen, Kings Food Markets, and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market; and pharmacies, in-store branded coffee shops, adjacent fuel centers, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities, as well as various digital platforms. Albertsons Companies, Inc. was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Albertsons Companies, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Albertsons Investor Holdings LLC.