Critical Analysis: M/I Homes (NYSE:MHO) versus Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR)

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) and M/I Homes (NYSE:MHO) are both mid-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Whirlpool has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, M/I Homes has a beta of 1.61, indicating that its share price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Whirlpool and M/I Homes”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Whirlpool	$14.92 billion	0.15	$318.00 million	$2.92	12.10
M/I Homes	$4.42 billion	0.80	$402.94 million	$11.88	11.80

M/I Homes has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Whirlpool. M/I Homes is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Whirlpool, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.8% of Whirlpool shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.1% of M/I Homes shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Whirlpool shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of M/I Homes shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Whirlpool and M/I Homes, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Whirlpool	3	8	1	0	1.83
M/I Homes	1	2	2	2	2.71

Whirlpool presently has a consensus price target of $45.44, indicating a potential upside of 28.65%. M/I Homes has a consensus price target of $164.25, indicating a potential upside of 17.22%. Given Whirlpool’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Whirlpool is more favorable than M/I Homes.

Profitability

This table compares Whirlpool and M/I Homes’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Whirlpool	1.17%	4.18%	0.82%
M/I Homes	7.44%	11.53%	7.65%

Summary

M/I Homes beats Whirlpool on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Whirlpool

Whirlpool Corporation manufactures and markets home appliances and related products and services in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The company's principal products include refrigerators, freezers, ice makers, and refrigerator water filters; laundry appliances, and commercial laundry products and related laundry accessories; cooking and other small domestic appliances; and dishwasher appliances and related accessories, as well as mixers. It markets and distributes its products primarily under the Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, JennAir, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Hotpoint, Indesit, InSinkErator, Yummly, Affresh, Gladiator, Swash, everydrop, Ignis, Privileg, Eslabon de Lujo, and Acros brands. The company sells its products to retailers, distributors, dealers, builders, and other manufacturers, as well as directly to consumers. Whirlpool Corporation was founded in 1911 and is headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan.

About M/I Homes

M/I Homes, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction and sale of single-family residential homes in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The company operates through Northern Homebuilding, Southern Homebuilding, and Financial Services segments. It also designs, constructs, markets, and sells single-family homes and attached townhomes to first-time, millennial, move-up, empty-nester, multi-generational, and luxury homebuyers under the M/I Homes brand name. In addition, the company purchases undeveloped land to develop into developed lots for the construction of single-family homes, as well as for sale to others. Further, the company originates and sells mortgages; and serves as a title insurance agent by providing title insurance policies, examination, and closing services to purchasers of its homes. M/I Homes, Inc. was founded in 1976 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.