Critical Comparison: Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) versus National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE)

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) and Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for National Vision and Newell Brands, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Vision	1	4	6	2	2.69
Newell Brands	1	5	4	0	2.30

National Vision presently has a consensus target price of $29.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.10%. Newell Brands has a consensus target price of $6.11, indicating a potential upside of 34.16%. Given Newell Brands’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Newell Brands is more favorable than National Vision.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.5% of Newell Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of National Vision shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Newell Brands shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares National Vision and Newell Brands’ 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%
Newell Brands	-3.96%	9.17%	2.14%

Volatility & Risk

National Vision has a beta of 1.39, indicating that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Newell Brands has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares National Vision and Newell Brands”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Vision	$1.82 billion	1.13	-$28.50 million	($0.03)	-862.33
Newell Brands	$7.20 billion	0.27	-$285.00 million	($0.68)	-6.70

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

Summary

National Vision beats Newell Brands on 9 of the 15 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 Newell Brands

Newell Brands Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr. Coffee, Oster, and Sunbeam brands; small appliances under the Breville brand name in Europe; food and home storage products under the FoodSaver, Rubbermaid, Ball, and Sistema brands; fresh preserving products; vacuum sealing products; and gourmet cookware, bakeware, and cutlery under the Calphalon brand; and home fragrance products under the WoodWick and Yankee Candle brands. The Learning and Development segment offers writing instruments, including markers and highlighters, pens, and pencils; art products; activity-based products; labeling solutions; and baby gear and infant care products under the Dymo, Elmer's, EXPO, Graco, NUK, Paper Mate, Parker, and Sharpie brands. The Outdoor and Recreation segment provides outdoor and outdoor-related products, inlcuding technical apparel and on-the-go beverageware under the Campingaz, Coleman, Contigo, and Marmot brands. It serves warehouse clubs, department and drug/grocery stores, mass merchants, home centers, commercial products distributors, specialty retailers, office superstores and supply stores, contract stationers, e-commerce retailers, and sporting goods, as well as direct to consumers online, select contract customers, and other professional customers. Newell Brands Inc. was founded in 1903 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.