Henkel Stock – Ready for a turn-around and 2.4% Dividend !?

Those who invested in Henkel stocks during the financial crisis between November 2008 and July 2009 benefited from price gains of over 500 percent. Annual price increases averaging 25 percent drove the stock to a new all-time high by mid-2017. A real party for Henkel and their Shareholders. But the hangover kicked in right after the business started to slow down. And when it rains, it pours – the Corona crisis is another hit for sales. In the meantime, the Henkel stock price fell by more than 40 percent, and the stock is still almost 30 percent away from its all-time high.

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In this stock analysis, we will check whether the Henkel stock is a bargain or if you should better let the dust settle.

The business model: How Henkel generates money

Henkel is a globally active consumer goods producer that has been owned by the Henkel family since its foundation by  Fritz Henkel in 1876. The Henkel family currently holds 61.54 percent of the ordinary stocks. Dr. Simone Bagel-Trah, the great-great-granddaughter of Henkel founder Fritz Henkel, is also Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board.

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Henkel stock
Logo
Country	Germany
Industry	Personal & Household
Isin	DE0006048408
Market cap.	39,2 billion $
Dividend yield	2.4%
Dividend stability	0.96 of max. 1.0
Earnings stability	0.94 of max. 1.0

The segments – From adhesives to laundry care products

Henkel divides its business into four segments. Below, we have grouped the segments “Industrial Adhesives” and “Adhesives for Consumers” as well as “Beauty Care” and “Laundry & Home Care”.

Revenue by Segment (Source: FactSet Workstation)

The „Adhesive“ Segment

The segment with the highest revenues is Henkel’s Adhesive business. It generates almost 40 percent of total revenues and comprises a broad portfolio of adhesives, sealants, and functional coatings. Together with the American conglomerate 3M, Henkel is the leading manufacturer in these areas.
The Pritt and Pattex brands, in particular, should be well known. However, the biggest buyers are not consumers, but smaller craftsmen and industrial companies. Henkel’s adhesives are used in industrial applications to manufacture cars, aircraft, computer, books, refrigerators, cell phones, furniture, textiles, packaging, and magazines, among other things.
Due to its industrial customers, the segment is relatively cyclical and reacts sensitively to economic downturns. For example, in recent years, Henkel has clearly felt the effects of the economic downturn in the automotive industry. This dependence on the economy contradicts the somewhat defensive nature of the other business sectors. It would, therefore, be exaggerated to regard Henkel as a company with a crisis-proof business model. Conversely, this is a luxury problem. The segment has grown organically in the past and comparatively strongly through acquisitions (for example, the adhesives business of the British chemical group ICI). For example, the adhesives business, which was still operating under a different name in 2004, accounted for just 14 percent of total revenues.

Revenue by segments 2000-2008 (Source: FactSet Workstation)

The „Beauty Care“ and „Laundry & Home Care“ segments

By contrast, the other segments, which combined account for almost 60 percent of its sales, are much more defensive and conservative. The “Beauty Care” segment generates 19 percent of revenues and includes hair, body, skin, and oral hygiene products. With its “Schwarzkopf” and “Syoss” brands, Henkel has strong and world-renowned brands in its portfolio. In the field of professional applications for the hairdressing business, the company is the clear market leader with its “Schwarzkopf Professional” products. Last but definitely not least, the”Laundry & Home Care” segment, covering the “Persil” and “Perwoll” brands – the company’s best-known products. In addition to detergents, Henkel also sells dishwashing detergents, surface cleaners, toilet cleaners, air fresheners, and offers electronic insect protection products.

Henkel’s brands in North America

Henkel – A dynasty

Indeed, the management of a company by the founders’ family is no guarantee for an excess return or a future-proof business model. Nevertheless, there is a connection between family ownership and sustainable management. Thinking is less about quarters, but rather about years or even generations. I consider the company’s strong ties to the founding family and their will to maintain and increase success in the long term to be advantageous and am pleased to be able to benefit from this through an investment in the company’s stock.

Growth problems and future plans

However, revenue growth has slowed down in recent years. Since 2008, revenues have risen relatively rapidly from EUR 13.5 billion to EUR 20 billion in 2017, but have stagnated since then, reaching only EUR 20.1 billion in 2019. Although Henkel has not yet published a forecast for 2020, analysts estimate that revenues will fall below EUR 19 billion.

Henkel’s revenue powered by DividendStocks.Cash

In addition to the decline in demand for industrial adhesives, Henkel was particularly hit by the lock-down in the first half of 2020. As a result, revenues in the “Beauty Care” segment fell by an impressive 8.5 percent and by as much as 12.8 percent in the second quarter, which was primarily due to the forced closure of hairdressing salons. However, the coronavirus is not to blame for the “Beauty Care” segment’s growth problems, which have been persisting for some time. Just take the first quarter of 2019 as an example. While Procter & Gamble grew by 9 percent in its “Beauty” segment, Henkel recorded a 2.2 percent drop.

However, the company is making considerable efforts to return to growth once the corona crisis has been overcome. Like Procter & Gamble before it, Henkel is trying to focus on particularly strong brands. Accordingly, it has identified brands and product categories in its consumer business with total revenues of more than one billion EUR, half of which it intends to sell or close. As we have seen at Procter & Gamble, it may well take longer for such a transformation process to be successful. So anyone who has missed the excellent performance of Procter & Gamble will be able to follow Henkel´s approach to achieve this the same way.

How profitable is Henkel?

Although the recent revenue trend has been somewhat disappointing, Henkel is still profitable and generates positive cash flow. However, you should not expect any significant upswings in the medium term. The times of high growth are over for now. Increased investment costs, the ongoing restructuring of the Group, and the Corona crisis’s consequences are likely to cause a significant slump in profits and cash flow.

Henkel’s earnings and cash flows powered by DividendStocks.Cash

The slight decline in margins (net and operating) over the past two years reflects the falling stock prices. Even if the corona crisis is likely further to reinforce the trend of falling margins this year, the next financial year should see a slight upturn. Besides, the fluctuations are so small that I do not pay too much attention to them. Instead, they are linked to global economic developments and the Group’s restructuring and are entirely normal in such phases.

Henkel’s margin powered by DividendStocks.Cash

The Henkel dividend – a chapter of its own

As a dividend stock, Henkel is interesting for investors who want to build up a predictable passive income. However, there are two Henkel stocks. You will now find out which of the two is probably the better choice for you.

Which Henkel stock should you buy: common or preferred?

If you want to buy Henkel stocks, you have the choice between the ordinary and the preferred stocks. Even though Henkel pays a 2-cent higher dividend on the preferred stocks, this advantage is offset by the approx. 15-percent higher stock price compared to the ordinary stock, which is why the dividend yield of 2.1 percent for the preferred stock is lower than that of the ordinary stock at 2.4 percent despite the higher dividend. You can easily see this correlation by looking at the key figures in the dividend screener:

Common and preferred Henkel stocks

If you exclusively look at the dividend yield, Henkel’s ordinary stock appears more attractive. However, compared to the preferred stock, the ordinary stock is less liquid and is not represented in any index, which means that you theoretically have to expect a wider trading margin (the so-called spread) when buying and selling the ordinary stock. I hold some Henkel ordinary stock in my portfolio. From my own experience, I can tell that I have never had problems with buying them because of poor tradeability or high spreads.

Is the Henkel dividend safe?

The Henkel dividend amounts to an exceptionally high 2.3 percent, a historic figure. The dividend yields were only higher in the wake of the financial crisis and at the height of the Corona crisis.

Dividend history for Henkel Stamm (ordinary stocks) powered by DividendStocks.Cash

Unlike its competitors Procter & Gamble, 3M, or Unilever, Henkel is not a dividend aristocrat that has increased its dividend payments every year for at least 25 years. This year, for example, the management merely kept the dividend stable compared to the previous year. Although Henkel does not increase the dividend every year, it does raise it regularly. Since 2005, the amount has quadrupled. For investors who invested in Henkel in 2005, the yield on cost (the dividend measured with respect to the personal purchase price) is still over 7 percent.

Henkel’s management plans to distribute a dividend of 30 to 40 percent of profits once a year. Most recently, the payout ratio was 34 percent. Due to the expected decline in profits, the payout next year could exceed the 40 percent limit. I could imagine that management would make an exception to its distribution policy due to the extraordinary burden of the coronavirus and keep the dividend constant instead of cutting it. However, this is not guaranteed.

Is the Henkel stock fairly valued?

The Dynamic Fair-Value Calculation shows that the Henkel stock was overvalued from 2013 onwards. With the stock price starting to decrease from 2017 onwards and lately the impact of Corona, the stock steered closer to its fair value. Although the chart cannot show you the past fair values for the adjusted profit due to a change in accounting by Henkel, the comparison multiples running in a relatively narrow band show that Henkel is currently trading relatively close to its fair pre-corona value.

Fair value calculation Henkel Stamm (ordinary stock powered by DividendStocks.Cash

The adjusted P/E ratio of under 16 also signals a fair valuation. Thus, Henkel is cheaper than the struggling company 3M, which currently has an adjusted P/E ratio of 18. Procter & Gamble and Unilever also all have a higher valuation. With an adjusted P/E ratio of 18.5, Henkel’s preferred stock is slightly more expensive than the ordinary stock with a P/E ratio of 16. The more favorable valuation thus also speaks in favor of the ordinary stock.

What I like about Henkel is the solid balance sheet. With a debt ratio of 40.6 percent, Henkel is above the ratio of Procter & Gamble (32.6 percent), but well below the ratio of Unilever (74 percent) and also 3M (45 percent). Besides, with an amortization power of EUR 1.7 billion, Henkel is liquid enough to address its EUR 12.8 billion debt, which means it would take 7.5 years to pay off the debt. This is significantly less than Procter & Gamble, which would need more than 11 years to pay off the debt despite its lower debt ratio due to its lower repayment power.

Deb to total assets and amortization power powered by DividendStocks.Cash

Alternative investments

If you are looking for more dividend stocks in the non-cyclical consumer goods sector, the following stock analyses might also be interesting for you. Just click the image to get to the analysis.​

Name	Isin	Country	Industry	Analyse
Unilever	NL0000388619	Netherlands	Personal/Household
Nestle	CH0038863350	Switzerland	Food processing
Procter & Gamble	US7427181091	USA	Personal/Household
Coca-Cola	US1912161007	USA	Beverages

Conclusion: Henkel stock – Solid dividend stock with potential

The Henkel stock is still under pressure. The economic slowdown, the poorly performing “Beauty Care” segment, and the coronavirus are weighing on the stock price. Nevertheless, the management is sticking to its long-term plans and intends to return to its old-growth by means of a portfolio adjustment. The long-term approach, the business model, and the family dynasty behind the company are still convincing. However, you don’t need to expect dream returns because of the current consolidation of the business. But it is quite possible that Henkel is standing right where Procter & Gamble stood a few years ago. At the current valuation level, Henkel is one of those companies that I keep adding to my portfolio. If you pursue a similar investment strategy and would like to hold the Henkel stock for the long term rather than trade it, I recommend that you buy the ordinary stock. Although it is less liquid, it has a more favorable valuation and higher a dividend yield.