Contrasting Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) and Henkel AG & Co. (OTCMKTS:HENKY)

Henkel AG & Co. (OTCMKTS:HENKY) and Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Henkel AG & Co. pays an annual dividend of $0.39 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Edgewell Personal Care pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Edgewell Personal Care pays out 115.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Henkel AG & Co. and Edgewell Personal Care, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Henkel AG & Co.	0	3	0	1	2.50
Edgewell Personal Care	1	4	3	0	2.25

Edgewell Personal Care has a consensus target price of $22.67, indicating a potential upside of 15.89%. Given Edgewell Personal Care’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Edgewell Personal Care is more favorable than Henkel AG & Co..

Volatility & Risk

Henkel AG & Co. has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Edgewell Personal Care has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Henkel AG & Co. shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.9% of Edgewell Personal Care shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Edgewell Personal Care shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Henkel AG & Co. and Edgewell Personal Care’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Henkel AG & Co.	N/A	N/A	N/A
Edgewell Personal Care	1.14%	7.85%	3.21%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Henkel AG & Co. and Edgewell Personal Care”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Henkel AG & Co.	$23.36 billion	1.50	$2.17 billion	N/A	N/A
Edgewell Personal Care	$2.22 billion	0.41	$25.40 million	$0.52	37.61

Henkel AG & Co. has higher revenue and earnings than Edgewell Personal Care.

Summary

Edgewell Personal Care beats Henkel AG & Co. on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Henkel AG & Co.

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the adhesive technologies and beauty care, and laundry and home care businesses worldwide. It operates in two segments, Adhesive Technologies and Consumer Brands segments. The company offers adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings for various business areas, including packaging and consumer goods; mobility and electronics; and craftsmen, construction, and professional industries. It also provides hair styling, hair coloring, and hair care products; and body products, as well as distributes its products through brick-and-mortar stores, hair salons, and digital channels. In addition, the company offers heavy-duty and specialty detergents, fabric softeners, laundry performance enhancers, and other fabric care products; hand and automatic dishwashing products; cleaners for bathroom and toilet applications; household, glass, and specialty cleaners; and insect control products. The company was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.

About Edgewell Personal Care

Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other. Its Wet shave products are sold under the Schick, Wilkinson Sword, Edge, Skintimate, Shave Guard and Personna brand names. Its Sun and Skin Care products are sold under the Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic, Wet Ones and Playtex brand names and offers Wet Ones, portable hand wipes category, and Playtex household gloves, the branded household glove in the United States. Its Feminine Care segment markets its products under the Playtex, Stayfree, Carefree and o.b. brands and markets pads and liners. Its All Other segment includes infant care, pet care and miscellaneous other products.