Head-To-Head Contrast: Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) versus Unicharm (OTCMKTS:UNICY)

Unicharm (OTCMKTS:UNICY) and Estee Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Dividends

Unicharm pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Estee Lauder Companies pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Unicharm pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Estee Lauder Companies pays out 140.0% 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 summary of recent ratings and price targets for Unicharm and Estee Lauder Companies, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Unicharm	0	2	0	0	2.00
Estee Lauder Companies	1	14	11	2	2.50

Estee Lauder Companies has a consensus price target of $110.31, indicating a potential downside of 2.52%. Given Estee Lauder Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Estee Lauder Companies is more favorable than Unicharm.

Volatility and Risk

Unicharm has a beta of 0.33, indicating that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Estee Lauder Companies has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Unicharm and Estee Lauder Companies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Unicharm	$6.32 billion	1.87	$436.93 million	$0.12	28.33
Estee Lauder Companies	$15.05 billion	2.72	$182.00 million	$1.00	113.16

Unicharm has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Estee Lauder Companies. Unicharm is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Estee Lauder Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Unicharm and Estee Lauder Companies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Unicharm	6.65%	7.19%	5.28%
Estee Lauder Companies	2.41%	26.99%	5.42%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

55.1% of Estee Lauder Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 11.5% of Estee Lauder Companies shares are held 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.

Summary

Estee Lauder Companies beats Unicharm on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Unicharm

Unicharm Corporation engages in the manufacturing and sale of wellness, feminine, baby and children, kirei, and pet care products in Japan and internationally. The company's baby and child care products, including disposable diapers and wipes under the Moony, MamyPoko, Oyasumiman, and Torepanman brands; feminine care products comprise napkins, tampons, panty liners, sanitary short, panty liners, and other feminine care products under the Sofy, Center-In, and Unicharm brand names; and wellness care products include napkin-type incontinence pads, pants-type diapers, tape-type diapers, pants-type specialized urine pads, and tape-type specialized urine pads under the Lifree and Charmnap brand. It also provides masks under the Unicharm brand; home care products, including cleaning sheets under the Wave brand name; cosmetic cotton and wet wipes under the Silcot brand; and paper towels under the Cook Up brand name. In addition, the company offers pet care products that include pet foods, excrement cleanup sheets, system toilets, and disposable diapers under the Grand Deli, Best Balance, Physicalife Dog, Silver Plate, Aiken Genki, Manner Wear, Deo Sheet, Silver Spoon, AllWell, Physicalife Cat, Deo Toilet, Deo Sand, Deo Clean, and Neko Genki brands; and deodorizing beads. Further, it is involved in the manufacture and sale of industrial materials related products, etc., as well as food-packaging materials. Unicharm Corporation was incorporated in 1941 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Estee Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools. The company also provides fragrance products in various forms comprising eau de parfum sprays and colognes, as well as lotions, powders, creams, candles, and soaps; and hair care products, including shampoos, conditioners, styling products, treatment, finishing sprays, and hair color products, as well as sells ancillary products and services. It offers its products under the Estée Lauder, Clinique, Origins, M·A·C, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, La Mer, Aveda, Jo Malone London, TOM FORD, Too Faced, Dr.Jart+, and The Ordinary brands. The company sells its products through department stores, specialty-multi retailers, upscale perfumeries and pharmacies, and salons and spas; freestanding stores; its own and authorized retailer websites; third-party online malls; stores in airports; and duty-free locations. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in New York, New York.