Critical Comparison: Reckitt Benckiser Group (OTCMKTS:RBGLY) & WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Reckitt Benckiser Group (OTCMKTS:RBGLY) and WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Reckitt Benckiser Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.5% of WD-40 shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of WD-40 shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Reckitt Benckiser Group and WD-40’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Reckitt Benckiser Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
WD-40	13.23%	33.53%	18.97%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Reckitt Benckiser Group and WD-40″s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Reckitt Benckiser Group	$18.73 billion	2.38	$4.20 billion	N/A	N/A
WD-40	$674.68 million	4.62	$90.99 million	$6.58	35.33

Reckitt Benckiser Group has higher revenue and earnings than WD-40.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Reckitt Benckiser Group and WD-40, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Reckitt Benckiser Group	1	2	3	2	2.75
WD-40	0	2	2	2	3.00

WD-40 has a consensus price target of $305.00, suggesting a potential upside of 31.18%. Given WD-40’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe WD-40 is more favorable than Reckitt Benckiser Group.

Dividends

Reckitt Benckiser Group pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. WD-40 pays an annual dividend of $4.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. WD-40 pays out 62.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WD-40 has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years.

Risk and Volatility

Reckitt Benckiser Group has a beta of 0.41, meaning that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WD-40 has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its stock price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

WD-40 beats Reckitt Benckiser Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Reckitt Benckiser Group

Reckitt Benckiser Group plc manufactures and sells health, hygiene, and nutrition products worldwide. It offers acne treatment creams, facial washes, and cleansing pads; germ protection products; condoms; heartburn and indigestion solutions; joints health products; chest congestion, cough, and sinus remedies; brain health products; migraine-headaches and rheumatic pain products; sore throat medications; and hair removal products under the Airborne, Clearasil, Dettol, Durex, Gaviscon, Move Free, Neuriva, Nurofen, Mucinex, Strepsils, and Veet brands. The company also offers home fragrances and devices; water softeners; home cleaning products; dish washes; toilet cleaners; disinfecting sprays wipes, laundry sanitisers, and others; sprays, baits, and plug-ins for pest control; stain removals; and fabric washing under the Air Wick, Calgon, Cillit Bang, Finish, Harpic, Lysol, Mortein, Vanish, and Woolite brands. In addition, it provides nutritious complementary foods and milk formulas for infant and young children under the Enfamil and Nutramigen brands. The company was founded in 1819 and is headquartered in Slough, the United Kingdom.

About WD-40

WD-40 Company develops and sells maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides multi-purpose maintenance products that include aerosol sprays, non-aerosol trigger sprays, precision pens, and in liquid-bulk form products under the WD-40 Multi-Use brand name; specialty maintenance products, such as penetrants, degreasers, corrosion inhibitors, greases, lubricants, and rust removers under the WD-40 Specialist brand; and bike-specific products. It also offers multi-purpose and specialty drip oils, and spray lubricant products, as well as other specialty maintenance products under the 3-IN-ONE brand name; and professional spray maintenance products and lubricants for the bike maintenance market under the GT85 brand name. In addition, the company provides automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the 2000 Flushes brand name; aerosol and liquid trigger carpet stain and odor eliminators under the Spot Shot brand; room and rug deodorizers under the Carpet Fresh brand name; carpet and household cleaners, and rug and room deodorizers under the 1001 brand; heavy-duty hand cleaner products under the Lava brand name in the United States, as well as under the Solvol brand name in Australia; and automatic toilet bowl cleaners under the X-14 brand name. It sells its products primarily through warehouse club stores, hardware stores, automotive parts outlets, industrial distributors and suppliers, mass retail and home center stores, value retailers, grocery stores, online retailers, farm supply, sport retailers, and independent bike dealers. WD-40 Company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.