Critical Review: Unilever (NYSE:UL) and Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL)

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

Risk and Volatility

Leslie’s has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Unilever has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Leslie’s and Unilever, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Leslie’s	3	5	0	0	1.63
Unilever	2	6	2	0	2.00

Leslie’s presently has a consensus target price of $6.55, indicating a potential upside of 495.45%. Unilever has a consensus target price of $65.55, indicating a potential downside of 11.05%. Given Leslie’s’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Leslie’s is more favorable than Unilever.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

9.7% of Unilever shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Leslie’s shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Unilever shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Leslie’s	-22.69%	N/A	-7.11%
Unilever	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Leslie’s	$1.24 billion	0.01	-$236.97 million	($29.66)	-0.04
Unilever	$57.13 billion	2.81	$10.71 billion	N/A	N/A

Unilever has higher revenue and earnings than Leslie’s.

Summary

Unilever beats Leslie’s on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements. The Personal Care segment offers skin cleansing products comprising soap and shower; deodorants; and oral care products, such as toothpaste, toothbrush, and mouthwash products. The Home Care segment is involved in the sale of fabric care products, including washing powders and liquids, and rinse conditioners; and fabric enhancers, and home and hygiene products. The Nutrition segment provides dressings products, such as mayonnaise and ketchup; sells scratch cooking aids consist of soups, bouillons, and seasonings; plant-based meat; beverages; and functional nutrition products, including Horlicks and Boost, as well as tea products. The Ice Cream segment offers ice cream products including in-home and out-of-home ice creams. The company provides its products under the AXE, Ben & Jerry's, Cif, Clear, Closeup, Comfort, Cornetto, Dermalogica, Domestos, Dove, Dove Men+Care, Hellmann's, Horlicks, Knorr, LUX, Lifebuoy, Liquid I.V., Magnum, Nutrafol, OMO, Paula's Choice, Pepsodent, Pond's, Rexona, Rexona, Sunlight, Sunsilk, Surf, TRESemmé, Vaseline, Wall's, Breyers, and Yasso brand names. Unilever PLC was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.