Unilever (ULVR) Competitors

Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RKT) and Unilever (LON:ULVR) are both large-cap consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and community ranking.

Does the media prefer RKT or ULVR?

In the previous week, Unilever had 4 more articles in the media than Reckitt Benckiser Group. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Unilever and 0 mentions for Reckitt Benckiser Group. Reckitt Benckiser Group's average media sentiment score of 0.34 beat Unilever's score of 0.00 indicating that Unilever is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Reckitt Benckiser Group	Neutral
Unilever	Neutral

Does the MarketBeat Community favor RKT or ULVR?

Unilever received 953 more outperform votes than Reckitt Benckiser Group when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 90.77% of users gave Reckitt Benckiser Group an outperform vote while only 58.16% of users gave Unilever an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Reckitt Benckiser Group	Outperform Votes 59 90.77%	Underperform Votes 6 9.23%
Unilever	Outperform Votes 1012 58.16%	Underperform Votes 728 41.84%

Which has more risk and volatility, RKT or ULVR?

Reckitt Benckiser Group has a beta of 0.06, indicating that its share price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Unilever has a beta of 0.16, indicating that its share price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is RKT or ULVR more profitable?

Reckitt Benckiser Group has a net margin of 11.25% compared to Reckitt Benckiser Group's net margin of 10.88%. Reckitt Benckiser Group's return on equity of 33.63% beat Unilever's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Reckitt Benckiser Group	11.25%	18.36%	7.43%
Unilever	10.88%	33.63%	8.22%

Do analysts rate RKT or ULVR?

Unilever has a consensus target price of GBX 4,320, suggesting a potential upside of 0.09%. Given Reckitt Benckiser Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Unilever is more favorable than Reckitt Benckiser Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Reckitt Benckiser Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Unilever	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has higher earnings and valuation, RKT or ULVR?

Unilever has higher revenue and earnings than Reckitt Benckiser Group. Unilever is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Reckitt Benckiser Group, 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
Reckitt Benckiser Group	£14.61B	2.22	£1.63B	£2.27	2,023.35
Unilever	£59.60B	1.82	£6.49B	£2.20	1,961.82

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of RKT or ULVR?

60.6% of Reckitt Benckiser Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.8% of Unilever shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Reckitt Benckiser Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Unilever shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is RKT or ULVR a better dividend stock?

Reckitt Benckiser Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 193 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Unilever pays an annual dividend of GBX 147 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Reckitt Benckiser Group pays out 8,502.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Unilever pays out 6,681.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

Unilever beats Reckitt Benckiser Group on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.