Lion (OTCMKTS:LIOPF) versus Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) Critical Comparison

Lion (OTCMKTS:LIOPF) and Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Lion has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Warby Parker has a beta of 2.1, meaning that its share price is 110% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.2% of Warby Parker shares are held by institutional investors. 18.2% of Warby Parker shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Lion and Warby Parker, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lion	0	0	0	0	0.00
Warby Parker	0	9	11	0	2.55

Warby Parker has a consensus target price of $24.06, suggesting a potential downside of 12.88%. Given Warby Parker’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Warby Parker is more favorable than Lion.

Profitability

This table compares Lion and Warby Parker’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lion	5.04%	6.69%	4.40%
Warby Parker	-1.12%	-0.79%	-0.41%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lion and Warby Parker”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lion	$2.73 billion	1.13	$139.90 million	$0.51	21.96
Warby Parker	$771.32 million	3.77	-$20.39 million	($0.07)	-394.57

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

About Lion

Lion Corporation manufactures and sells consumer and industrial products in Japan and internationally. It operates through three segments: Consumer Products Business, Industrial Products Business, and Overseas Business. The company provides dental and oral care products, including toothpastes, toothbrushes, dental floss, dental rinses, mouthwashes, periodontitis ointments, and denture products; body care products, such as shampoos and conditioners, hand soaps, sanitizers, wet wipes, body washes, skin and acne care products, antiperspirants and deodorants, hair-nourishment treatments, men's care and toiletries products, and foot care products. It offers antipyretic analgesics, eye drops and eye care products, cold medicines, gargles, cold relief products, topical anti-inflammatory analgesics, antidiarrheal and gastrointestinal medicines, health tonic drinks and vitamin supplements, acne and anti-drowsiness medicines, and dermatologic agents. In addition, the company offers fabric care products, such as laundry detergent, delicate detergent, prewash treatment, stain remover, bleach, and fabric softener; clothing care products; household cleaners; kitchen cleanup products comprises dishwashing detergents and antibacterial and deodorizing products; and food preparation products. Further, it provides health and beauty food products consisting of supplements and health tonic drinks; specialty chemicals, and chemical products, include rubber processing and additive agents, mandrel release agents, fatty acid methyl esters, plant-based electrical insulating oils, concrete admixtures, surfactants, and cosmetics ingredients, as well as electro-conductive carbon black and pressure-sensitive adhesives; pet supplies; and gift and special-order products. The company was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Warby Parker

Warby Parker Inc. provides eyewear products in the United States and Canada. The company offers eyeglasses, sunglasses, light-responsive lenses, blue-light-filtering lenses, non-prescription lenses, and contact lenses. It also provides accessories, such as cases, lenses kit with anti-fog spray, pouches, and anti-fog lens spray through its retail stores, website, and mobile apps. In addition, the company offers eye exams and vision tests. Warby Parker Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in New York, New York.