Head to Head Survey: National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) vs. WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) and National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.5% of WD-40 shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of WD-40 shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of National Vision shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

WD-40 has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its stock price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Vision has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares WD-40 and National Vision’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WD-40	14.42%	30.10%	16.79%
National Vision	-0.12%	3.58%	1.52%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for WD-40 and National Vision, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WD-40	0	1	1	0	2.50
National Vision	1	4	6	2	2.69

WD-40 currently has a consensus price target of $300.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.94%. National Vision has a consensus price target of $29.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.53%. Given WD-40’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe WD-40 is more favorable than National Vision.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WD-40 and National Vision”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WD-40	$619.98 million	5.18	$90.99 million	$6.57	36.26
National Vision	$1.82 billion	1.17	-$28.50 million	($0.03)	-899.00

WD-40 has higher earnings, but lower revenue than National Vision. National Vision is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WD-40, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

WD-40 beats National Vision on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WD-40

WD-40 Company develops and sells maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides multi-purpose maintenance products that include aerosol sprays, non-aerosol trigger sprays, precision pens, and in liquid-bulk form products under the WD-40 Multi-Use brand name; specialty maintenance products, such as penetrants, degreasers, corrosion inhibitors, greases, lubricants, and rust removers under the WD-40 Specialist brand; and bike-specific products. It also offers multi-purpose and specialty drip oils, and spray lubricant products, as well as other specialty maintenance products under the 3-IN-ONE brand name; and professional spray maintenance products and lubricants for the bike maintenance market under the GT85 brand name. In addition, the company provides automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the 2000 Flushes brand name; aerosol and liquid trigger carpet stain and odor eliminators under the Spot Shot brand; room and rug deodorizers under the Carpet Fresh brand name; carpet and household cleaners, and rug and room deodorizers under the 1001 brand; heavy-duty hand cleaner products under the Lava brand name in the United States, as well as under the Solvol brand name in Australia; and automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the X-14 brand name. It sells its products primarily through warehouse club stores, hardware stores, automotive parts outlets, industrial distributors and suppliers, mass retail and home center stores, value retailers, grocery stores, online retailers, farm supply, sport retailers, and independent bike dealers. WD-40 Company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

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.