Flexsteel Industries (NASDAQ:FLXS – Get Free Report) and Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR – Get Free Report) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.
Profitability
This table compares Flexsteel Industries and Whirlpool’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Flexsteel Industries | 6.79% | 16.10% | 9.91% |
| Whirlpool | 1.17% | 4.18% | 0.82% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
36.3% of Flexsteel Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.8% of Whirlpool shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.2% of Flexsteel Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Whirlpool shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Flexsteel Industries | $441.07 million | 0.93 | $20.15 million | $5.52 | 13.80 |
| Whirlpool | $15.52 billion | 0.18 | $318.00 million | $2.92 | 14.79 |
Whirlpool has higher revenue and earnings than Flexsteel Industries. Flexsteel Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Whirlpool, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Flexsteel Industries has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Whirlpool has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Flexsteel Industries and Whirlpool, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Flexsteel Industries | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Whirlpool | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1.82 |
Whirlpool has a consensus target price of $46.88, indicating a potential upside of 8.57%. Given Whirlpool’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Whirlpool is more favorable than Flexsteel Industries.
Summary
Flexsteel Industries beats Whirlpool on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Flexsteel Industries
Flexsteel Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a manufacturer, importer, and markets of upholstered furniture for residential and contract markets in the United States. It provides upholstered furniture, such as sofas, loveseats, chairs, reclining rocking chairs, swivel rockers, sofa beds, convertible bedding units, occasional tables, desks, dining tables and chairs, kitchen storage, bedroom furniture, and outdoor furniture. The company distributes its products through e-commerce channels and dealer sales force. It also engages in export related activities. Flexsteel Industries, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is based in Dubuque, Iowa.
About Whirlpool
Whirlpool Corporation manufactures and markets home appliances and related products and services in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The company's principal products include refrigerators, freezers, ice makers, and refrigerator water filters; laundry appliances, and commercial laundry products and related laundry accessories; cooking and other small domestic appliances; and dishwasher appliances and related accessories, as well as mixers. It markets and distributes its products primarily under the Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, JennAir, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Hotpoint, Indesit, InSinkErator, Yummly, Affresh, Gladiator, Swash, everydrop, Ignis, Privileg, Eslabon de Lujo, and Acros brands. The company sells its products to retailers, distributors, dealers, builders, and other manufacturers, as well as directly to consumers. Whirlpool Corporation was founded in 1911 and is headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
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