Financial Survey: Clorox (NYSE:CLX) & Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyLeslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL – Get Free Report) and Clorox (NYSE:CLX – Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Leslie’s and Clorox, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Leslie’s | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.75 |
| Clorox | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1.81 |
Leslie’s presently has a consensus target price of $6.55, indicating a potential upside of 332.34%. Clorox has a consensus target price of $118.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.73%. Given Leslie’s’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Leslie’s is more favorable than Clorox.
Risk and Volatility
Leslie’s has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Clorox has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Leslie’s and Clorox’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Leslie’s | -22.69% | N/A | -7.11% |
| Clorox | 11.17% | 383.01% | 14.57% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Leslie’s and Clorox”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Leslie’s | $1.24 billion | 0.01 | -$236.97 million | ($29.66) | -0.05 |
| Clorox | $7.10 billion | 1.77 | $810.00 million | $6.12 | 16.95 |
Clorox has higher revenue and earnings than Leslie’s. Leslie’s is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Clorox, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
78.5% of Clorox shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Leslie’s shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Clorox shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Clorox beats Leslie’s on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Leslie’s
Leslie’s, Inc. operates as a direct-to-consumer pool and spa care brand in the United States. The company markets and sells pool and spa supplies and related products and services. It also offers various pool and spa maintenance items, such as chemicals, equipment and parts, cleaning and maintenance equipment, safety, recreational, and fitness related products. In addition, the company provides installation and repair services for pool and spa equipment. It also sells its products through e-commerce websites and third-party marketplaces. The company offers complimentary, commercial-grade in-store, water testing, and analysis services. It serves the residential, professional, and commercial consumers. Leslie’s, Inc. was founded in 1963 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.
About Clorox
The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The Health and Wellness segment offers cleaning products, such as laundry additives and home care products primarily under the Clorox, Clorox2, Scentiva, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Tilex, and Formula 409 brands; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brands in the United States. The Household segment provides cat litter products under the Fresh Step and Scoop Away brands; bags and wraps under the Glad brand; and grilling products under the Kingsford brand in the United States. The Lifestyle segment offers dressings, dips, seasonings, and sauces primarily under the Hidden Valley brand; natural personal care products under the Burt's Bees brand; and water-filtration products under the Brita brand in the United States. The International segment provides laundry additives; home care products; water-filtration systems; digestive health products; grilling products; cat litter products; food products; bags and wraps; natural personal care products; and professional cleaning and disinfecting products internationally primarily under the Clorox, Ayudin, Clorinda, Poett, Pine-Sol, Glad, Brita, RenewLife, Ever Clean and Burt's Bees brands. It sells its products primarily through mass retailers; grocery outlets; warehouse clubs; dollar stores; home hardware centers; drug, pet, and military stores; third-party and owned e-commerce channels; and distributors, as well as a direct sales force The Clorox Company was founded in 1913 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.