Analyzing Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) and Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI)

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) and Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Albertsons Companies has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Warby Parker has a beta of 2.06, meaning that its stock price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Albertsons Companies and Warby Parker, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Albertsons Companies	1	5	10	0	2.56
Warby Parker	0	10	9	0	2.47

Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus price target of $23.43, suggesting a potential upside of 36.33%. Warby Parker has a consensus price target of $24.53, suggesting a potential upside of 14.96%. Given Albertsons Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Albertsons Companies is more favorable than Warby Parker.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.4% of Albertsons Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Warby Parker shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Albertsons Companies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.2% of Warby Parker shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Albertsons Companies	$80.39 billion	0.12	$958.60 million	$1.69	10.17
Warby Parker	$771.32 million	2.93	-$20.39 million	$0.01	2,134.00

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Albertsons Companies	1.20%	36.39%	4.45%
Warby Parker	0.08%	1.96%	1.01%

Summary

Albertsons Companies beats Warby Parker on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of food and drug stores in the United States. The company’s food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmacy, fuel, and other items and services. It also manufactures and processes food products for sale in stores. It operates stores under various banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Haggen, Kings Food Markets, and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market; and pharmacies, in-store branded coffee shops, adjacent fuel centers, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities, as well as various digital platforms. Albertsons Companies, Inc. was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Albertsons Companies, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Albertsons Investor Holdings LLC.

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.