Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, consumer-staples giant Unilever
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Unilever's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Unilever facts
Headquarters (Founded) |
London (1885) |
Market Cap |
$88.6 billion |
Industry |
Processed and packaged goods |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$58.95 billion |
Management |
CEO Paul Polman (since 2008) CFO James Lawrence (since 2007) |
Major Brands |
Food: Becel, Hellman's, Lipton Personal: Axe, Dove, Vaseline Home: Comfort, Sunlight, Surf |
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) |
33.8% |
Cash/Debt |
$3.95 billion / $14.78 billion |
Dividend Yield |
2.6% |
Competitors |
Procter & Gamble
Kraft Foods
Colgate-Palmolive |
CAPS Members Bullish on UL Also Bullish on |
Johnson & Johnson
General Electric |
CAPS Members Bearish on UL Also Bearish on |
Apple |
Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 96% of the 693 members who have rated Unilever believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include mehulmvora and MizzouFanVan.
Earlier this year, mehulmvora tapped Unilever as a simple bet on international growth: "With expanding overseas market and a good management of product portfolio, Unilever is poised to benefit from any recovery in consumer confidence globally."
In a pitch from late last month, MizzouFanVan singled out the stock as a stable foreign income opportunity:
This is an international play -- a strong, solid consumer goods company. As the U.S. and everyone else slowly crawls out of the recession pit, this sector is going to benefit. And you don't get a more solid company (P&G is good, but based in U.S. dollars is kind of shaky right now). Company pays a dividend, too, which means they also respect their investor's ability to reinvest profits.
What do you think about Unilever, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!