Yatsen (NYSE:YSG – Get Free Report) and Honest (NASDAQ:HNST – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
45.5% of Honest shares are held by institutional investors. 29.0% of Yatsen shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.4% of Honest shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Yatsen and Honest’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Yatsen | -4.63% | -7.26% | -5.42% |
| Honest | -3.56% | 4.31% | 3.33% |
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Yatsen | $614.62 million | 0.38 | -$11.56 million | ($0.32) | -7.86 |
| Honest | $371.32 million | 1.58 | -$15.69 million | ($0.11) | -48.45 |
Yatsen has higher revenue and earnings than Honest. Honest is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Yatsen, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Yatsen has a beta of -1.54, indicating that its share price is 254% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Honest has a beta of 2.24, indicating that its share price is 124% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Yatsen and Honest, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Yatsen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Honest | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2.22 |
Honest has a consensus price target of $4.84, indicating a potential downside of 9.19%. Given Honest’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Honest is more favorable than Yatsen.
Summary
Honest beats Yatsen on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Yatsen
Yatsen Holding Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and sale of beauty products under the Perfect Diary, Little Ondine, Pink Bear, Abby’s Choice, GalÃnic, DR.WU, Eve Lom, and EANTiM brands in the People’s Republic of China. The company offers color cosmetics for lips, eyes, and face; skin care products, including face serums and creams, eye creams, masks, toners, makeup removers, cleansers, ampoules, and anti-acne patches; and beauty tools and kits, sunscreen products, and beauty devices. It sells its products through stores and online channel. The company was formerly known as Mangrove Bay Ecommerce Holding (Cayman) and changed its name to Yatsen Holding Limited in January 2019. Yatsen Holding Limited was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Guangzhou, China.
About Honest
The Honest Company, Inc. manufactures and sells diapers and wipes, skin and personal care, and household and wellness products. The company also offers baby clothing and nursery bedding products. It sells its products through digital and retail sales channels, such as its website and third-party ecommerce sites, as well as brick and mortar retailers. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Receive News & Ratings for Yatsen Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Yatsen and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
