Head-To-Head Contrast: Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) & Reynolds Consumer Products (NASDAQ:REYN)

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) and Reynolds Consumer Products (NASDAQ:REYN) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.1% of Central Garden & Pet shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.8% of Reynolds Consumer Products shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.2% of Central Garden & Pet shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Reynolds Consumer Products shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Central Garden & Pet and Reynolds Consumer Products, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Central Garden & Pet	0	1	2	1	3.00
Reynolds Consumer Products	0	7	1	0	2.12

Central Garden & Pet presently has a consensus target price of $54.00, indicating a potential upside of 34.36%. Reynolds Consumer Products has a consensus target price of $25.60, indicating a potential upside of 17.70%. Given Central Garden & Pet’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Central Garden & Pet is more favorable than Reynolds Consumer Products.

Volatility and Risk

Central Garden & Pet has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Reynolds Consumer Products has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Central Garden & Pet and Reynolds Consumer Products’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Central Garden & Pet	5.39%	11.13%	4.93%
Reynolds Consumer Products	9.11%	16.03%	7.28%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Central Garden & Pet and Reynolds Consumer Products”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Central Garden & Pet	$3.13 billion	0.80	$162.84 million	$2.68	15.00
Reynolds Consumer Products	$3.79 billion	1.21	$301.00 million	$1.64	13.26

Reynolds Consumer Products has higher revenue and earnings than Central Garden & Pet. Reynolds Consumer Products is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Central Garden & Pet, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Central Garden & Pet beats Reynolds Consumer Products on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co. engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on dog and cat supplies such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management and training pads, supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles and pet birds including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish, and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions. The Garden segment includes lawn and garden consumables such as grass, vegetable, flower and herb seed, wild bird feed, bird houses and other birding accessories, weed, grass, and other herbicides, insecticide and pesticide products, fertilizers, and live plants. The company was founded by William E. Brown in 1980 and is headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA.

About Reynolds Consumer Products

Reynolds Consumer Products Inc. produces and sells products in cooking, waste and storage, and tableware product categories in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Reynolds Cooking & Baking, Hefty Waste & Storage, Hefty Tableware, and Presto Products. The Reynolds Cooking & Baking segment produces aluminum foil, disposable aluminum pans, parchment paper, freezer paper, wax paper, butcher paper, plastic wrap, baking cups, oven bags, and slow cooker liners under the Reynolds Wrap, Reynolds KITCHENS, and EZ Foil brands in the United States, as well as under the ALCAN brand in Canada and under the Diamond brand internationally. The Hefty Waste & Storage segment offers trash bags under the Hefty Ultra Strong and Hefty Strong brands; and food storage bags under the Hefty and Baggies brands. This segment also provides a suite of products, including compostable bags, bags made from recycled materials, and the orange bags. The Hefty Tableware segment offers disposable and compostable plates, bowls, platters, cups, and cutlery under the Hefty brand. The Presto Products segment primarily sells store brand products in food storage bags, trash bags, reusable storage containers, and plastic wrap categories. It offers both branded and store brand products to grocery stores, mass merchants, warehouse clubs, discount chains, dollar stores, drug stores, home improvement stores, military outlets, and eCommerce retailers. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. Reynolds Consumer Products Inc. is a subsidiary of Packaging Finance Limited.