National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE – Get Free Report) and Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC – Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares National Vision and Edgewell Personal Care’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| National Vision | 1.49% | 5.15% | 2.22% |
| Edgewell Personal Care | -1.76% | 7.16% | 2.90% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for National Vision and Edgewell Personal Care, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| National Vision | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 2.57 |
| Edgewell Personal Care | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2.25 |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
91.9% of Edgewell Personal Care shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of National Vision shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Edgewell Personal Care shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares National Vision and Edgewell Personal Care”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| National Vision | $1.99 billion | 1.06 | $29.60 million | $0.37 | 71.81 |
| Edgewell Personal Care | $2.22 billion | 0.41 | $25.40 million | ($0.85) | -22.88 |
National Vision has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Edgewell Personal Care. Edgewell Personal Care is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Vision, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
National Vision has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Edgewell Personal Care has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
National Vision beats Edgewell Personal Care on 8 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 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.
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