Kimberly-Clark (KMB) Competitors

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, community ranking, institutional ownership and profitability.

Is KMB or CL more profitable?

Colgate-Palmolive has a net margin of 14.38% compared to Kimberly-Clark's net margin of 12.69%. Colgate-Palmolive's return on equity of 477.77% beat Kimberly-Clark's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kimberly-Clark	12.69%	201.43%	14.45%
Colgate-Palmolive	14.38%	477.77%	17.98%

Which has more risk and volatility, KMB or CL?

Kimberly-Clark has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Colgate-Palmolive has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor KMB or CL?

In the previous week, Kimberly-Clark had 6 more articles in the media than Colgate-Palmolive. MarketBeat recorded 37 mentions for Kimberly-Clark and 31 mentions for Colgate-Palmolive. Colgate-Palmolive's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat Kimberly-Clark's score of 1.06 indicating that Colgate-Palmolive is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Kimberly-Clark	23 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Colgate-Palmolive	24 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, KMB or CL?

Colgate-Palmolive has higher revenue and earnings than Kimberly-Clark. Kimberly-Clark is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Colgate-Palmolive, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kimberly-Clark	$19.75B	2.38	$2.55B	$7.34	19.29
Colgate-Palmolive	$19.95B	3.74	$2.89B	$3.54	25.98

Does the MarketBeat Community favor KMB or CL?

Colgate-Palmolive received 12 more outperform votes than Kimberly-Clark when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 50.72% of users gave Colgate-Palmolive an outperform vote while only 49.55% of users gave Kimberly-Clark an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Kimberly-Clark	Outperform Votes 554 49.55%	Underperform Votes 564 50.45%
Colgate-Palmolive	Outperform Votes 566 50.72%	Underperform Votes 550 49.28%

Do analysts recommend KMB or CL?

Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus target price of $145.08, suggesting a potential upside of 2.46%. Colgate-Palmolive has a consensus target price of $102.12, suggesting a potential upside of 11.05%. Given Colgate-Palmolive's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Colgate-Palmolive is more favorable than Kimberly-Clark.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kimberly-Clark	2 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.15
Colgate-Palmolive	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.45

Do insiders and institutionals believe in KMB or CL?

76.3% of Kimberly-Clark shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.4% of Colgate-Palmolive shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Kimberly-Clark shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Colgate-Palmolive shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is KMB or CL a better dividend stock?

Kimberly-Clark pays an annual dividend of $5.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Colgate-Palmolive pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Kimberly-Clark pays out 68.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Colgate-Palmolive pays out 58.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Kimberly-Clark has increased its dividend for 54 consecutive years and Colgate-Palmolive has increased its dividend for 63 consecutive years.

Summary

Colgate-Palmolive beats Kimberly-Clark on 17 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.