Energizer (NYSE:ENR) versus Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Financial Comparison

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.7% of Energizer shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.4% of Colgate-Palmolive shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Energizer shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Colgate-Palmolive shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Energizer and Colgate-Palmolive”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	0.42	$239.00 million	$2.73	6.70
Colgate-Palmolive	$20.38 billion	3.47	$2.13 billion	$2.57	34.35

Colgate-Palmolive has higher revenue and earnings than Energizer. Energizer is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Colgate-Palmolive, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Energizer and Colgate-Palmolive’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%
Colgate-Palmolive	10.04%	386.76%	17.89%

Risk and Volatility

Energizer has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Colgate-Palmolive has a beta of 0.33, meaning that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Energizer pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.6%. Colgate-Palmolive pays an annual dividend of $2.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Energizer pays out 44.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Colgate-Palmolive pays out 82.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Colgate-Palmolive has increased its dividend for 63 consecutive years. Energizer is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Energizer and Colgate-Palmolive, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Energizer	0	7	1	0	2.13
Colgate-Palmolive	0	6	12	0	2.67

Energizer presently has a consensus target price of $23.14, indicating a potential upside of 26.52%. Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus target price of $95.88, indicating a potential upside of 8.61%. Given Energizer’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Energizer is more favorable than Colgate-Palmolive.

Summary

Colgate-Palmolive beats Energizer on 10 of the 17 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 Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items. This segment markets and sells its products under various brands, which include Colgate, Darlie, elmex, hello, meridol, Sorriso, Tom's of Maine, Irish Spring, Palmolive, Protex, Sanex, Softsoap, Lady Speed Stick, Speed Stick, EltaMD, Filorga, PCA SKIN, Ajax, Axion, Fabuloso, Murphy, Suavitel, and Soupline to a range of traditional and eCommerce retailers, wholesalers, and distributors. It includes pharmaceutical products for dentists and other oral health professionals. Its Pet Nutrition segment offers pet nutrition products for everyday nutritional needs under the Hill's Science Diet brand; and a range of therapeutic pet products to help nutritionally support dogs and cats in different stages of health under the Hill's Prescription Diet brand. This segment markets and sells its products through pet supply retailers, veterinarians, and eCommerce retailers. Colgate-Palmolive Company was founded in 1806 and is headquartered in New York, New York.