Critical Analysis: KinderCare Learning Companies (KLC) versus The Competition

KinderCare Learning Companies (NYSE:KLC) is one of 36 publicly-traded companies in the “SCHOOLS” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare KinderCare Learning Companies to related companies based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares KinderCare Learning Companies and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
KinderCare Learning Companies	$2.73 billion	-$112.88 million	-4.03
KinderCare Learning Companies Competitors	$1.34 billion	$77.32 million	14.29

KinderCare Learning Companies has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its peers. KinderCare Learning Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

KinderCare Learning Companies has a beta of 2.33, meaning that its stock price is 133% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KinderCare Learning Companies’ peers have a beta of 0.19, meaning that their average stock price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

46.8% of shares of all “SCHOOLS” companies are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of KinderCare Learning Companies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.7% of shares of all “SCHOOLS” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares KinderCare Learning Companies and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KinderCare Learning Companies	-4.13%	9.85%	2.28%
KinderCare Learning Companies Competitors	7.34%	5.26%	5.34%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for KinderCare Learning Companies and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KinderCare Learning Companies	3	5	1	0	1.78
KinderCare Learning Companies Competitors	384	773	1418	79	2.45

KinderCare Learning Companies currently has a consensus target price of $4.63, indicating a potential upside of 21.01%. As a group, “SCHOOLS” companies have a potential upside of 24.13%. Given KinderCare Learning Companies’ peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe KinderCare Learning Companies has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Summary

KinderCare Learning Companies peers beat KinderCare Learning Companies on 10 of the 13 factors compared.

KinderCare Learning Companies Company Profile

KinderCare Learning Companies Inc. is a provider of high-quality early childhood education by center capacity. KinderCare Learning Companies Inc. is based in PORTLAND, Ore.