Unilever is a consumer goods company based in London. Unilever's got something for everyone, as it owns a variety of brands, including Ben & Jerry's, Hellmann's, Dove, Persil and Lynx. Investing in Unilever gets you access to all of the brands it owns, so it's worth taking some time to see what brands you'd be a stakeholder for and make sure your values align with theirs. Here's how to invest in Unilever.
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All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
Only you can make the decision on the time to leap. The gauge below shows real-time ratings that are based on 26 popular indicators such as moving averages, for specific time periods. It's not a recommendation but is simply technical analysis that can form part of your research.
Finder might not agree with the analysis and we take no responsibility. We also give no representations or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the information provided on this page.
All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value. Check out the Unilever P/E ratio, PEG ratio and EBITDA
Unilever's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 14x. In other words, Unilever shares trade at around 14x recent earnings.
That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the FTSE 250 at the end of September 2019 (19.71). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.
However, Unilever's P/E ratio is best considered in relation to those of others within the household & personal products industry or those of similar companies.
Unilever's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.5659. Higher PEG ratios such as this can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value given the current rate of growth.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Unilever's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
However, it's sensible to consider Unilever's PEG ratio in relation to those of similar companies.
Unilever's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is a whopping £11.1 billion.
The EBITDA is a measure of a Unilever's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
To put that into context you can compare it against similar companies.
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Unilever.
Unilever's total ESG risk: 30
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Unilever's overall score of 30 (as at 01/01/2019) is nothing to write home about – landing it in it in the 40th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Unilever is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
To gain some more context, you can compare Unilever's total ESG risk score against those of similar companies.
Unilever's environmental score: 12.28/100
Unilever's environmental score of 12.28 puts it squarely in the 9th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Unilever is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Unilever's social score: 14.46/100
Unilever's social score of 14.46 puts it squarely in the 9th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Unilever is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Unilever's governance score: 13.76/100
Unilever's governance score puts it squarely in the 9th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Unilever is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Unilever's controversy score: 3/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. A high-profile company, Unilever scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Unilever hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.
Wondering how that compares? Below are the controversy scores of similar companies.
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All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.
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