Critical Analysis: Energizer (NYSE:ENR) & Nestle (OTCMKTS:NSRGY)

Energizer (NYSE:ENR) and Nestle (OTCMKTS:NSRGY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Energizer and Nestle’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Energizer	6.55%	144.22%	5.37%
Nestle	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Energizer and Nestle, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Energizer	0	7	1	0	2.12
Nestle	1	2	1	0	2.00

Energizer currently has a consensus target price of $23.14, suggesting a potential upside of 6.45%. Given Energizer’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Energizer is more favorable than Nestle.

Dividends

Energizer pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Nestle pays an annual dividend of $2.51 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Energizer pays out 44.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Energizer and Nestle”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Energizer	$2.95 billion	0.50	$239.00 million	$2.73	7.96
Nestle	$107.99 billion	2.52	$10.90 billion	N/A	N/A

Nestle has higher revenue and earnings than Energizer.

Risk & Volatility

Energizer has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nestle has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.7% of Energizer shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.6% of Nestle shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Energizer 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.

Summary

Energizer beats Nestle on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Energizer

Energizer Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes household batteries, specialty batteries, and lighting products worldwide. It offers lithium, alkaline, carbon zinc, nickel metal hydride, zinc air, and silver oxide batteries under the Energizer, Eveready, and Rayovac brands; primary, rechargeable, specialty, and hearing aid batteries; and handheld, headlights, lanterns, and area lights, as well as flashlights under the Hard Case, Dolphin, and WeatherReady brands. The company licenses the Energizer, Rayovac, and Eveready brands to companies developing consumer solutions in solar, automotive batteries, portable power for critical devices, generators, power tools, household light bulbs, and other lighting products. In addition, it designs and markets automotive fragrance and appearance products, including protectants, wipes, tire and wheel care products, glass cleaners, leather care products, air fresheners, and washes to clean, shine, refresh, and protect interior and exterior automobile surfaces under the brand names of Armor All, Nu Finish, Refresh Your Car!, LEXOL, Eagle One, California Scents, Driven, Bahama & Co, Carnu, Grand Prix, Kit, and Tempo; STP branded fuel and oil additives, functional fluids, and other performance chemical products; and do-it-yourself automotive air conditioning recharge products under the A/C PRO brand name, as well as other refrigerant and recharge kits, sealants, and accessories. The company sells its products through direct sales force, distributors, and wholesalers; and various retail and business-to-business channels, including mass merchandisers, club, electronics, food, home improvement, dollar store, auto, drug, hardware, e-commerce, convenience, sporting goods, hobby/craft, office, industrial, medical, and catalog. Energizer Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.

About Nestle

Nestlé S.A., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a food and beverage company. The company operates through Zone North America; Zone Europe; Zone Asia, Oceania, and Africa; Zone Latin America; Zone Greater China; Nespresso; and Nestlé Health Science segments. It offers baby foods under the Cerelac, Gerber, Nido, and NaturNes brands; bottled water under the Nestlé Pure Life, Perrier, Vittel, Buxton, Erikli, and S.Pellegrino brands; cereals under the Fitness, Nesquik, cheerios, and Lion Cereals brands; and chocolate and confectionery products under the KitKat, Smarties, Aero, Nestlé Les Recettes de l'Atelier, Milkybar, Baci Perugina, Quality Street, and Fitness brands. The company provides coffee products under the Nescafé, Nespresso, Nescafé Dolce Gusto, Starbucks Coffee At Home, and Blue Bottle Coffee brands; culinary, chilled, and frozen foods under the Maggi, DiGiorno, Thomy, Garden Gourmet, Sweet Earth, Hot Pockets, Stouffer's, Buitoni, Lean, and Life Cuisine brands; dairy products under the Carnation, Nido, Bear, Coffee-Mate, and La Laitière brands; and drinks under the Nesquik, Nestea, Nescafé, and Milo brands. In addition, it offers food service products under the Milo, Nescafé, Maggi, Chef, Nestea, Stouffer's, Chef-Mate, Minor's, and Lean Cuisine brand names; healthcare nutrition products under the Boost, Garden of Life, Nature's Bounty, Persona, Vital Proteins, Solgar, Peptamen, Resource, Vitaflo, Impact, and Compleat brands; ice cream products under the Movenpick, Häagen-Dazs, Nestlé Ice Cream, and Extrême brands; and pet care products under the Purina, ONE, Alpo, Felix, Pro Plan, Cat Chow, Fancy Feast, Bakers, Friskies, Dog Chow, Beneful, and Gourmet brands. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland.