Reviewing Spectrum Brands (NYSE:SPB) & Energizer (NYSE:ENR)

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.7% of Energizer shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Energizer shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Spectrum Brands shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Energizer pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Spectrum Brands pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Energizer pays out 101.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Spectrum Brands pays out 57.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Spectrum Brands has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Energizer and Spectrum Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Energizer	2.73%	122.63%	4.72%
Spectrum Brands	2.76%	10.06%	5.49%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Energizer and Spectrum Brands”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Energizer	$2.95 billion	0.57	$239.00 million	$1.18	20.74
Spectrum Brands	$2.81 billion	0.73	$99.70 million	$3.28	27.13

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

Risk and Volatility

Energizer has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Spectrum Brands has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Energizer and Spectrum Brands, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Energizer	1	6	0	0	1.86
Spectrum Brands	0	4	4	0	2.50

Energizer currently has a consensus price target of $21.50, suggesting a potential downside of 12.15%. Spectrum Brands has a consensus price target of $97.86, suggesting a potential upside of 9.96%. Given Spectrum Brands’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Spectrum Brands is more favorable than Energizer.

Summary

Spectrum Brands beats Energizer on 11 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 Spectrum Brands

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. operates as a branded consumer products and home essentials company in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions. It operates through three segments: Home and Personal Care; Global Pet Care; and Home and Garden. The Home and Personal Care segment provides home appliances under the Black & Decker, Russell Hobbs, George Foreman, PowerXL, Emeril Legasse, Copper Chef, Toastmaster, Juiceman, Farberware, and Breadman brands; and personal care products under the Remington brand. The Global Pet Care segment provides dog and cat chews, treats, wet and dry foods, dog and cat clean-up and food, training, health and grooming, indoor birds, and small animal food and care products under the Good'n'Fun, DreamBone, GOOD BOY, SmartBones, IAMS, EUKANUBA, Nature's Miracle, FURminator, Dingo, 8IN1, Meowee!, and Wild Harvest brands. This segment also offers aquarium kits, stand-alone tanks, and aquatics equipment and consumables under the Tetra, Marineland, Instant Ocean, GloFish, and OmegaSea brands. The Home and Garden segment provides outdoor insect and weed control solutions, and animal repellents under the Spectracide, Garden Safe, Liquid Fence, and EcoLogic brands; household pest control solutions under the Hot Shot, Black Flag, Real-Kill, Ultra Kill, The Ant Trap, and Rid-A-Bug brand names; household surface cleaning, maintenance, and restoration products, including bottled liquids, mops, wipes, and markers under the Rejuvenate brand name; and personal-use pesticides and insect repellent products under the Cutter and Repel brands. The company sells its products through retailers, e-commerce and online retailers, wholesalers, and distributors. Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.