Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) and Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) Critical Comparison

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) and Nature’s Sunshine Products (NASDAQ:NATR) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Kenvue and Nature’s Sunshine Products’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kenvue	10.76%	21.22%	8.37%
Nature’s Sunshine Products	3.68%	12.88%	8.17%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kenvue and Nature’s Sunshine Products”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kenvue	$15.12 billion	2.24	$1.47 billion	$0.87	20.29
Nature’s Sunshine Products	$492.02 million	0.45	$19.52 million	$1.01	12.51

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.6% of Kenvue shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Nature’s Sunshine Products shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Kenvue shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Nature’s Sunshine Products shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Kenvue pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Nature’s Sunshine Products pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Kenvue pays out 96.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Nature’s Sunshine Products pays out 39.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kenvue has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Kenvue is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Kenvue and Nature’s Sunshine Products, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kenvue	0	10	0	0	2.00
Nature’s Sunshine Products	0	1	2	0	2.67

Kenvue presently has a consensus target price of $18.43, suggesting a potential upside of 4.38%. Nature’s Sunshine Products has a consensus target price of $30.50, suggesting a potential upside of 141.30%. Given Nature’s Sunshine Products’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Nature’s Sunshine Products is more favorable than Kenvue.

Volatility & Risk

Kenvue has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nature’s Sunshine Products has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Kenvue beats Nature’s Sunshine Products on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Nature’s Sunshine Products

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc., a natural health and wellness company, manufactures and sells nutritional and personal care products in Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and internationally. It offers general health products related to blood sugar support, bone health, cellular health, cognitive function, joint health, mood, sexual health, sleep, sports and energy, and vision. The company also provides immunity, cardiovascular, and digestive products; and personal care products, such as oils and lotions, aloe vera gels, herbal shampoos, herbal skin treatment, toothpaste, and skin cleansers, as well as weight management products. It offers its products under the Nature’s Sunshine and Synergy WorldWide brands through a sales force of independent consultants. Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Lehi, Utah.