WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) vs. Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) Financial Contrast

Leslie’s (NASDAQ:LESL) and WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Leslie’s and WD-40″s gross 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	0.02	-$236.97 million	($29.69)	-0.09
WD-40	$619.98 million	4.43	$90.99 million	$5.88	34.72

WD-40 has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Leslie’s. Leslie’s is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WD-40, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Leslie’s and WD-40, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Leslie’s	2	4	1	0	1.86
WD-40	0	1	2	0	2.67

Leslie’s presently has a consensus price target of $2.85, indicating a potential upside of 8.78%. WD-40 has a consensus price target of $270.00, indicating a potential upside of 32.24%. Given WD-40’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe WD-40 is more favorable than Leslie’s.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.5% of WD-40 shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Leslie’s shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of WD-40 shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Leslie’s has a beta of 1.53, indicating that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WD-40 has a beta of 0.33, indicating that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Leslie’s	-22.64%	N/A	-8.22%
WD-40	12.57%	30.23%	17.15%

Summary

WD-40 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 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.