Financial Contrast: Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) and WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) and Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

WD-40 pays an annual dividend of $4.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Kenvue pays an annual dividend of $0.83 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. WD-40 pays out 62.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kenvue pays out 107.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. WD-40 has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years and Kenvue has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares WD-40 and Kenvue’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WD-40	14.42%	30.10%	16.79%
Kenvue	9.72%	19.72%	7.72%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares WD-40 and Kenvue”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WD-40	$619.98 million	5.31	$90.99 million	$6.57	37.12
Kenvue	$15.12 billion	2.31	$1.47 billion	$0.77	23.69

Kenvue has higher revenue and earnings than WD-40. Kenvue is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WD-40, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

WD-40 has a beta of 0.17, indicating that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kenvue has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for WD-40 and Kenvue, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WD-40	0	1	1	0	2.50
Kenvue	0	12	3	0	2.20

WD-40 presently has a consensus price target of $300.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.01%. Kenvue has a consensus price target of $19.50, suggesting a potential upside of 6.91%. Given WD-40’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe WD-40 is more favorable than Kenvue.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.5% of WD-40 shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.6% of Kenvue shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of WD-40 shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Kenvue shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

WD-40 beats Kenvue on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WD-40

WD-40 Company develops and sells maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides multi-purpose maintenance products that include aerosol sprays, non-aerosol trigger sprays, precision pens, and in liquid-bulk form products under the WD-40 Multi-Use brand name; specialty maintenance products, such as penetrants, degreasers, corrosion inhibitors, greases, lubricants, and rust removers under the WD-40 Specialist brand; and bike-specific products. It also offers multi-purpose and specialty drip oils, and spray lubricant products, as well as other specialty maintenance products under the 3-IN-ONE brand name; and professional spray maintenance products and lubricants for the bike maintenance market under the GT85 brand name. In addition, the company provides automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the 2000 Flushes brand name; aerosol and liquid trigger carpet stain and odor eliminators under the Spot Shot brand; room and rug deodorizers under the Carpet Fresh brand name; carpet and household cleaners, and rug and room deodorizers under the 1001 brand; heavy-duty hand cleaner products under the Lava brand name in the United States, as well as under the Solvol brand name in Australia; and automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the X-14 brand name. It sells its products primarily through warehouse club stores, hardware stores, automotive parts outlets, industrial distributors and suppliers, mass retail and home center stores, value retailers, grocery stores, online retailers, farm supply, sport retailers, and independent bike dealers. WD-40 Company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Kenvue

Kenvue Inc. operates as a consumer health company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Self Care, Skin Health and Beauty, and Essential Health. The Self Care segment offers cough, cold and allergy, pain care, digestive health, smoking cessation, eye care, and other products under the Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Nicorette, Zarbee's, ORSLTM, Rhinocort, Calpol, and Zyrtec brands. The Skin Health and Beauty segment provides face and body care, hair, sun, and other care products under the Neutrogena, Aveeno, Dr.Ci:Labo, Le Petit Marseillais, Lubriderm, Rogaine, and OGX brand names. The Essential Health segment offers oral and baby, women's health, wound, and other care products under the Listerine, Johnson's, Band-Aid, and Stayfree, o.b., tampons, Carefree, and Desitin Diaper Rash brands. The company was incorporated in 2022 and is headquartered in Skillman, New Jersey.