Analyzing Clorox (NYSE:CLX) & Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL)

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) and Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Clorox and Leslie’s”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clorox	$7.10 billion	1.80	$810.00 million	$6.12	17.28
Leslie’s	$1.24 billion	0.01	-$236.97 million	($29.66)	-0.05

Clorox has higher revenue and earnings than Leslie’s. Leslie’s is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Clorox, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Clorox and Leslie’s’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clorox	11.17%	383.01%	14.57%
Leslie’s	-22.69%	N/A	-7.11%

Risk and Volatility

Clorox has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Leslie’s has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Clorox and Leslie’s, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clorox	4	11	1	0	1.81
Leslie’s	2	6	0	0	1.75

Clorox presently has a consensus price target of $116.27, indicating a potential upside of 9.96%. Leslie’s has a consensus price target of $6.55, indicating a potential upside of 378.10%. Given Leslie’s’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Leslie’s is more favorable than Clorox.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.5% of Clorox shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Clorox shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Leslie’s shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Clorox beats Leslie’s on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The Health and Wellness segment offers cleaning products, such as laundry additives and home care products primarily under the Clorox, Clorox2, Scentiva, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Tilex, and Formula 409 brands; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brands in the United States. The Household segment provides cat litter products under the Fresh Step and Scoop Away brands; bags and wraps under the Glad brand; and grilling products under the Kingsford brand in the United States. The Lifestyle segment offers dressings, dips, seasonings, and sauces primarily under the Hidden Valley brand; natural personal care products under the Burt's Bees brand; and water-filtration products under the Brita brand in the United States. The International segment provides laundry additives; home care products; water-filtration systems; digestive health products; grilling products; cat litter products; food products; bags and wraps; natural personal care products; and professional cleaning and disinfecting products internationally primarily under the Clorox, Ayudin, Clorinda, Poett, Pine-Sol, Glad, Brita, RenewLife, Ever Clean and Burt's Bees brands. It sells its products primarily through mass retailers; grocery outlets; warehouse clubs; dollar stores; home hardware centers; drug, pet, and military stores; third-party and owned e-commerce channels; and distributors, as well as a direct sales force The Clorox Company was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.

About Leslie’s

Leslie’s, Inc. operates as a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand in the United States. The company markets and sells pool and spa supplies and related products and services. It also offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products. In addition, the company provides installation and repair services for pool and spa equipment. It also sells its products through e-commerce websites and third-party marketplaces. The company offers complimentary, commercial-grade in-store, water testing, and analysis services. It serves the residential, professional, and commercial consumers. Leslie’s, Inc. was founded in 1963 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.