Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC) & Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT) Critical Review
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyKrispy Kreme (NASDAQ:DNUT – Get Free Report) and Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE:EPC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Krispy Kreme and Edgewell Personal Care, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Krispy Kreme | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2.08 |
| Edgewell Personal Care | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2.25 |
Krispy Kreme currently has a consensus target price of $5.51, suggesting a potential upside of 20.93%. Edgewell Personal Care has a consensus target price of $23.17, suggesting a potential upside of 32.38%. Given Edgewell Personal Care’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Edgewell Personal Care is more favorable than Krispy Kreme.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Krispy Kreme and Edgewell Personal Care”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Krispy Kreme | $1.67 billion | 0.47 | $3.10 million | ($2.99) | -1.53 |
| Edgewell Personal Care | $2.22 billion | 0.37 | $25.40 million | $0.52 | 33.65 |
Edgewell Personal Care has higher revenue and earnings than Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Edgewell Personal Care, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Krispy Kreme has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Edgewell Personal Care has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Krispy Kreme and Edgewell Personal Care’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Krispy Kreme | -33.27% | -5.13% | -1.67% |
| Edgewell Personal Care | 1.14% | 7.85% | 3.21% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
81.7% of Krispy Kreme shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.9% of Edgewell Personal Care shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Krispy Kreme shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Edgewell Personal Care shares are held by company 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
Edgewell Personal Care beats Krispy Kreme on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Krispy Kreme
Krispy Kreme, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces doughnuts in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, Japan, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: U.S., International, and Market Development. The company offers doughnut experiences through hot light theater and fresh shops, delivered fresh daily branded cabinets and merchandising units within grocery and convenience stores, quick service restaurants, club memberships, drug stores, and ecommerce, as well as through its branded sweet treat line comprising Krispy Kreme branded sweet treats. It also provides cookies under the Insomnia Cookies brand, cookie cakes, ice cream, cookie-wiches, and brownies; and operates Krispy Kreme company-owned shops and franchise shops. The company was formerly known as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. and changed its name to Krispy Kreme, Inc. in May 2021. Krispy Kreme, Inc. was founded in 1937 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
About Edgewell Personal Care
Edgewell Personal Care Company is a manufacturer and marketer of personal care products in the wet shave, sun and skin care, feminine care and infant care categories. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had a portfolio of over 25 brands. It manages its business in four segments: Wet Shave, Sun and Skin Care, Feminine Care and All Other. Its Wet shave products are sold under the Schick, Wilkinson Sword, Edge, Skintimate, Shave Guard and Personna brand names. Its Sun and Skin Care products are sold under the Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic, Wet Ones and Playtex brand names and offers Wet Ones, portable hand wipes category, and Playtex household gloves, the branded household glove in the United States. Its Feminine Care segment markets its products under the Playtex, Stayfree, Carefree and o.b. brands and markets pads and liners. Its All Other segment includes infant care, pet care and miscellaneous other products.