Analyzing Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) and Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE)

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) and Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Kenvue and Grocery Outlet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kenvue	9.55%	20.02%	7.74%
Grocery Outlet	-0.10%	5.86%	2.13%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Kenvue and Grocery Outlet, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kenvue	1	12	5	1	2.32
Grocery Outlet	2	7	3	1	2.23

Kenvue presently has a consensus price target of $20.23, suggesting a potential upside of 19.96%. Grocery Outlet has a consensus price target of $15.73, suggesting a potential upside of 35.74%. Given Grocery Outlet’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Grocery Outlet is more favorable than Kenvue.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.6% of Kenvue shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.9% of Grocery Outlet shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Kenvue shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Grocery Outlet shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Kenvue has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grocery Outlet has a beta of 0.33, indicating that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Kenvue and Grocery Outlet”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kenvue	$15.46 billion	2.09	$1.03 billion	$0.75	22.49
Grocery Outlet	$4.37 billion	0.26	$39.47 million	($0.05)	-231.72

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

Summary

Kenvue beats Grocery Outlet on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kenvue

Kenvue Inc. operates as a consumer health company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Self Care, Skin Health and Beauty, and Essential Health. The Self Care segment offers cough, cold and allergy, pain care, digestive health, smoking cessation, eye care, and other products under the Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Nicorette, Zarbee's, ORSLTM, Rhinocort, Calpol, and Zyrtec brands. The Skin Health and Beauty segment provides face and body care, hair, sun, and other care products under the Neutrogena, Aveeno, Dr.Ci:Labo, Le Petit Marseillais, Lubriderm, Rogaine, and OGX brand names. The Essential Health segment offers oral and baby, women's health, wound, and other care products under the Listerine, Johnson's, Band-Aid, and Stayfree, o.b., tampons, Carefree, and Desitin Diaper Rash brands. The company was incorporated in 2022 and is headquartered in Skillman, New Jersey.

About Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. operates as a retailer of consumables and fresh products sold through independently operated stores in the United States. Its stores offer products in various categories, such as dairy and deli, produce, floral, fresh meat, seafood products, grocery, general merchandise, health and beauty care, frozen food, beer and wine, and ethnic products. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.