Financial Analysis: Energizer (NYSE:ENR) & BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ)

Energizer (NYSE:ENR) and BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.7% of Energizer shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.6% of BJ’s Wholesale Club shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Energizer shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of BJ’s Wholesale Club shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Energizer and BJ’s Wholesale Club’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%
BJ’s Wholesale Club	2.62%	26.67%	7.59%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Energizer and BJ’s Wholesale Club”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Energizer	$2.95 billion	0.50	$239.00 million	$2.73	7.90
BJ’s Wholesale Club	$21.46 billion	0.51	$578.38 million	$4.35	19.62

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

Volatility & Risk

Energizer has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BJ’s Wholesale Club has a beta of 0.23, suggesting that its share price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Energizer and BJ’s Wholesale Club, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Energizer	0	7	1	0	2.13
BJ’s Wholesale Club	1	8	9	0	2.44

Energizer presently has a consensus price target of $23.14, indicating a potential upside of 7.34%. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a consensus price target of $105.27, indicating a potential upside of 23.36%. Given BJ’s Wholesale Club’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe BJ’s Wholesale Club is more favorable than Energizer.

Summary

BJ’s Wholesale Club beats Energizer on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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 BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. engages in the operation of membership warehouse clubs. Its product categories include grocery, household and pet, television and electronics, furniture, computer and tablets, patio and outdoor living, lawn and garden, baby and kids, toys, home, health and beauty, appliances, and jewelry. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Marlborough, MA.