Comparing Unilever (NYSE:UL) and ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO)

ARKO (NASDAQ:ARKO) and Unilever (NYSE:UL) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Risk & Volatility

ARKO has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Unilever has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ARKO and Unilever’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARKO	0.24%	6.95%	0.52%
Unilever	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

ARKO pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Unilever pays an annual dividend of $2.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. ARKO pays out 109.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ARKO and Unilever”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARKO	$8.73 billion	0.06	$20.84 million	$0.11	42.18
Unilever	$59.77 billion	2.31	$6.22 billion	N/A	N/A

Unilever has higher revenue and earnings than ARKO.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for ARKO and Unilever, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARKO	1	3	1	1	2.33
Unilever	2	3	5	0	2.30

ARKO currently has a consensus target price of $7.13, indicating a potential upside of 53.56%. Unilever has a consensus target price of $67.37, indicating a potential upside of 6.36%. Given ARKO’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ARKO is more favorable than Unilever.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.3% of ARKO shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.7% of Unilever shares are held by institutional investors. 22.5% of ARKO shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Unilever shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

ARKO beats Unilever on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ARKO

Arko Corp. operates convenience stores in the United States. It operates through Retail, Wholesale, Fleet Fueling, and GPMP segments. The Retail segment engages in the sale of fuel and merchandise to retail consumers. Its Wholesale segment supplies fuel to third-party dealers and consignment agents. The Fleet Fueling segment supplies fuel to proprietary and third-party cardlock, and issuance of proprietary fuel cards. Its GPMP segment supplies fuel to retail and wholesale segments. The company is based in Richmond, Virginia.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements. The Personal Care segment offers skin cleansing products comprising soap and shower; deodorants; and oral care products, such as toothpaste, toothbrush, and mouthwash products. The Home Care segment is involved in the sale of fabric care products, including washing powders and liquids, and rinse conditioners; and fabric enhancers, and home and hygiene products. The Nutrition segment provides dressings products, such as mayonnaise and ketchup; sells scratch cooking aids consist of soups, bouillons, and seasonings; plant-based meat; beverages; and functional nutrition products, including Horlicks and Boost, as well as tea products. The Ice Cream segment offers ice cream products including in-home and out-of-home ice creams. The company provides its products under the AXE, Ben & Jerry's, Cif, Clear, Closeup, Comfort, Cornetto, Dermalogica, Domestos, Dove, Dove Men+Care, Hellmann's, Horlicks, Knorr, LUX, Lifebuoy, Liquid I.V., Magnum, Nutrafol, OMO, Paula's Choice, Pepsodent, Pond's, Rexona, Rexona, Sunlight, Sunsilk, Surf, TRESemmé, Vaseline, Wall's, Breyers, and Yasso brand names. Unilever PLC was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.