Analyzing KinderCare Learning Companies (NYSE:KLC) and Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR)

KinderCare Learning Companies (NYSE:KLC) and Laureate Education (NASDAQ:LAUR) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares KinderCare Learning Companies and Laureate Education’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KinderCare Learning Companies	-15.48%	7.27%	1.66%
Laureate Education	16.08%	22.07%	11.25%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.3% of Laureate Education shares are held by institutional investors. 5.3% of KinderCare Learning Companies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Laureate Education shares are held by company 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares KinderCare Learning Companies and Laureate Education”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KinderCare Learning Companies	$2.73 billion	0.18	-$112.88 million	($0.95)	-4.26
Laureate Education	$1.70 billion	2.64	$281.63 million	$1.90	16.91

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for KinderCare Learning Companies and Laureate Education, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KinderCare Learning Companies	3	6	1	0	1.80
Laureate Education	0	2	4	0	2.67

KinderCare Learning Companies currently has a consensus price target of $4.43, suggesting a potential upside of 9.39%. Laureate Education has a consensus price target of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.53%. Given Laureate Education’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Laureate Education is more favorable than KinderCare Learning Companies.

Volatility & Risk

KinderCare Learning Companies has a beta of 4.61, meaning that its stock price is 361% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Laureate Education has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Laureate Education beats KinderCare Learning Companies on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KinderCare Learning Companies

KinderCare Learning Companies Inc. is a provider of high-quality early childhood education by center capacity. KinderCare Learning Companies Inc. is based in PORTLAND, Ore.

About Laureate Education

Laureate Education, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, offers higher education programs and services to students through a network of universities and higher education institutions. The company provides a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the areas of business and management, medicine and health sciences, and engineering and information technology through campus-based, online, and hybrid programs. It also offers specialized courses for technical and vocational training; and senior high school. Its services are provides in Mexico, Peru, and the United States. The company was formerly known as Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Laureate Education, Inc. in May 2004. Laureate Education, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.