Financial Survey: L’Oreal (OTCMKTS:LRLCY) and National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE)

L’Oreal (OTCMKTS:LRLCY) and National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

L’Oreal has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Vision has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.4% of L’Oreal shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of National Vision shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares L’Oreal and National Vision”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
L’Oreal	$49.83 billion	4.53	$6.93 billion	N/A	N/A
National Vision	$1.99 billion	0.88	$29.60 million	$0.37	59.38

L’Oreal has higher revenue and earnings than National Vision.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for L’Oreal and National Vision, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
L’Oreal	1	6	5	1	2.46
National Vision	0	6	8	0	2.57

National Vision has a consensus target price of $31.21, indicating a potential upside of 42.07%. Given National Vision’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe National Vision is more favorable than L’Oreal.

Profitability

This table compares L’Oreal and National Vision’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
L’Oreal	N/A	N/A	N/A
National Vision	1.49%	5.15%	2.22%

Summary

National Vision beats L’Oreal on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About L’Oreal

L'Oréal S.A., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic products for women and men worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Consumer Products, L'oréal Luxe, Professional Products, and Dermatological Beauty. It offers skincare, make-up, hair colourants, haircare, perfumes, and hygiene products. The company provides its products under the L'Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline New York, NYX Professional Makeup, Stylenanda, Essie, Dark & Lovely, Mixa, Magic Mask, Niley, Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Armani, Kiehl's Since 1851, Helena Rubinstein, Biotherm, Shu Uemura, IT Cosmetics, Ralph Lauren Fragrance, Urban Decay, Mugler, Valentino, Viktor&Rolf, Azzaro, Prada, Cacharel, Maison Margela Fragrance, Diesel, Yue Sai, Atelier Colonge, Carita, Takami, Aesop, L'Oréal Professionnel Paris, Kérastase, Redken, Matrix, Pureology, Pulp Riot, La Roche-Posay, Vichy, CeraVe, SkinCeuticals, and Skinbetter Science brands. It sells its products through distribution channels, such as hair salons, local stores, e-commerce, travel retail, mass market retail, department store perfumeries, pharmacies, drug stores, medi-spas, and free-standing stores. L'Oréal S.A. was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Clichy, France.

About National Vision

National Vision Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an optical retailer in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Owned & Host and Legacy. It offers eyeglasses and contact lenses, and optical accessory products; provides eye exams through its America’s Best, Eyeglass World, Vista Optical, Fred Meyer, and Vista Optical military, as well as Vision Center branded stores; and offers health maintenance organization and optometric services. National Vision Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia.