Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE – Get Free Report) and La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.
Profitability
This table compares Helen of Troy and La-Z-Boy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Helen of Troy | -22.70% | 6.46% | 2.47% |
| La-Z-Boy | 3.86% | 11.79% | 6.12% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Helen of Troy and La-Z-Boy, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Helen of Troy | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2.20 |
| La-Z-Boy | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.40 |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
99.6% of La-Z-Boy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Helen of Troy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of La-Z-Boy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Helen of Troy and La-Z-Boy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Helen of Troy | $1.82 billion | 0.36 | -$898.98 million | ($17.99) | -1.56 |
| La-Z-Boy | $2.13 billion | 0.60 | $101.99 million | $1.97 | 16.06 |
La-Z-Boy has higher revenue and earnings than Helen of Troy. Helen of Troy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than La-Z-Boy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Helen of Troy has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, La-Z-Boy has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
La-Z-Boy beats Helen of Troy on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy Limited provides various consumer products in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates in two segments: Home & Outdoor and Beauty & Wellness. The Home & Outdoor segment offers food storage containers, kitchen utensils for cooking and preparing salads, fruits, vegetables and meats, graters, slicers and choppers, baking essentials, kitchen organization, bath, cleaning, infant and toddler products, and coffee preparation tools and electronics; and insulated beverageware, including bottles, travel tumblers, drinkware, mugs, food and lunch containers, insulated totes, soft coolers, outdoor kitchenware, and accessories. This segment also provides technical and outdoor sports packs, bike packs and bags, hydration and travel packs, duffel bags and luggage, lifestyle and everyday packs, kid carrier packs, and accessories. The Beauty & Wellness segment offers mass, professional and prestige hair appliances, brushes, grooming tools, and accessories; and prestige shampoos, liquid hair styling products, treatments, and conditioners. This segment also provides thermometers, blood pressure monitors, pulse oximeters, nasal aspirators, humidifiers, faucet mount and pitcher water filtration systems, air purifiers, heaters, fans, and humidification, thermometry, water filtration, and air purification consumables. The company sells its products through mass merchandisers, sporting goods retailers, department stores, drugstore chains, home improvement stores, grocery stores, specialty stores, prestige beauty chains, beauty supply retailers, e-commerce retailers, wholesalers, warehouse clubs, and various types of distributors, as well as directly to consumers under the OXO, Good Grips, Soft Works, OXO tot, OXO Brew, OXO Strive, OXO Outdoor, Hydro Flask, Osprey, Drybar, Hot Tools, Curlsmith, and PUR brands. Helen of Troy Limited was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in El Paso, Texas.
About La-Z-Boy
La-Z-Boy Incorporated manufactures, markets, imports, exports, distributes, and retails upholstery furniture products, accessories, and casegoods furniture products in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Wholesale, Retail, Corporate and Other segments. The Wholesale segment manufactures, and imports upholstered furniture, such as recliners and motion furniture, sofas, loveseats, chairs, sectionals, modulars, ottomans, and sleeper sofas; and imports, distributes, and retails casegoods (wood) furniture, including occasional pieces, bedroom sets, dining room sets, entertainment centers, and occasional pieces. This segment sells its products directly to La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores, operators of La-Z-Boy Comfort Studio locations, England Custom Comfort Center locations, dealers, and other independent retailers. The Retail segment sells upholstered furniture, casegoods, and other accessories to the end consumer through its retail network. The company also produces reclining chairs; and manufactures and distributes residential furniture. Its Corporate and Other segment sells the products through its website. The company was formerly known as La-Z-Boy Chair Company and changed its name to La-Z-Boy Incorporated in 1996. La-Z-Boy Incorporated was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Monroe, Michigan.
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