Contrasting Warby Parker (NYSE:WRBY) and Energizer (NYSE:ENR)

Energizer (NYSE:ENR) 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 profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.7% of Energizer shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Warby Parker shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Energizer shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.8% of Warby Parker shares are held by 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.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Energizer	$2.95 billion	0.47	$239.00 million	$2.73	7.46
Warby Parker	$871.91 million	3.04	$1.64 million	$0.02	1,236.45

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Energizer and Warby Parker, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Energizer	0	7	1	0	2.12
Warby Parker	0	5	10	0	2.67

Energizer presently has a consensus target price of $23.86, suggesting a potential upside of 17.19%. Warby Parker has a consensus target price of $29.82, suggesting a potential upside of 20.58%. Given Warby Parker’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Warby Parker is more favorable than Energizer.

Volatility and Risk

Energizer has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Warby Parker has a beta of 1.91, suggesting that its share price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Energizer	6.55%	144.22%	5.37%
Warby Parker	0.15%	2.30%	1.18%

About Energizer

Energizer Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes household batteries, specialty batteries, and lighting products worldwide. It offers lithium, alkaline, carbon zinc, nickel metal hydride, zinc air, and silver oxide batteries under the Energizer, Eveready, and Rayovac brands; primary, rechargeable, specialty, and hearing aid batteries; and handheld, headlights, lanterns, and area lights, as well as flashlights under the Hard Case, Dolphin, and WeatherReady brands. The company licenses the Energizer, Rayovac, and Eveready brands to companies developing consumer solutions in solar, automotive batteries, portable power for critical devices, generators, power tools, household light bulbs, and other lighting products. In addition, it designs and markets automotive fragrance and appearance products, including protectants, wipes, tire and wheel care products, glass cleaners, leather care products, air fresheners, and washes to clean, shine, refresh, and protect interior and exterior automobile surfaces under the brand names of Armor All, Nu Finish, Refresh Your Car!, LEXOL, Eagle One, California Scents, Driven, Bahama & Co, Carnu, Grand Prix, Kit, and Tempo; STP branded fuel and oil additives, functional fluids, and other performance chemical products; and do-it-yourself automotive air conditioning recharge products under the A/C PRO brand name, as well as other refrigerant and recharge kits, sealants, and accessories. The company sells its products through direct sales force, distributors, and wholesalers; and various retail and business-to-business channels, including mass merchandisers, club, electronics, food, home improvement, dollar store, auto, drug, hardware, e-commerce, convenience, sporting goods, hobby/craft, office, industrial, medical, and catalog. Energizer Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.

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.