HELE vs PNR vs AOS Stock Comparison

Helen Of Troy, Pentair and Smith A O Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HELE Helen Of Troy Ltd
$29.71 +5.5% 1M +48.0% 1Y
Market cap
$671.71M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.83B
Div. yield
–
Home Appliances Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
PNR PENTAIR plc
$65.78 +23.0% 1M -38.9% 1Y
Market cap
$10.55B
P/E
17.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.97B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
5 wins
AOS Smith A O Corp
$63.51 +9.4% 1M -3.2% 1Y
Market cap
$8.54B
P/E
17.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.80B
Div. yield
0.02%
HVAC Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Pentair leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Pentair 5, Smith A O 4, Helen Of Troy 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHELEPNRAOSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $671.71M $10.55B $8.54B PNR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -6.8x 17.2x 17.3x PNR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.9x 14.5x 17.6x HELE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.3% -3.9% -0.7% HELE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -5.4% 15.4% 13.0% PNR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.6% 12.5% 20.8% AOS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 8.3x 1.6x 0.6x AOS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.02% AOS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +48.0% -38.9% -3.2% HELE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -33.3%/yr -2.3%/yr -2.8%/yr PNR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 54.0% 36.3% 27.6% AOS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 42/100 62/100 60/100 PNR

Percentile Scorecard

HELEPNRAOS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisHELEPNRAOS
Valuation 78 #10 of 41 71 #59 of 203 67 #19 of 55
Growth 43 #24 of 41 32 #128 of 188 32 #35 of 51
Profitability 46 #21 of 38 82 #33 of 183 90 #6 of 49
Financial Health 27 #31 of 42 46 #118 of 216 70 #17 of 55
Shareholder Returns 15 #23 of 27 79 #33 of 152 41 #24 of 40
Overall 42 62 60
  • HELE ranked among 44 companies in Household Durables
  • PNR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • AOS ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodHELEPNRAOSSPY
1 month +5.5%+23.0%+9.4% +0.7%
3 months +6.6%-0.6%+6.2% +3.7%
6 months +28.3%-18.5%+2.7% +7.1%
Year to date +39.8%-36.8%-5.0% +12.8%
1 year +48.0%-38.9%-3.2% +11.9%
3 years -69.4%+12.0%-8.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year -32.6%+3.9%-3.0% +22.8%
5 years -86.8%-11.1%-13.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year -33.3%-2.3%-2.8% +10.9%
10 years -62.7%+19.3%+41.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year -9.4%+1.8%+3.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureHELEPNRAOSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 54.0%36.3%27.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.5%40.4%26.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.970.940.70 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.89-1.07-0.11 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -94.5%-53.7%-43.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.7%-39.5%-21.1% -1.2%
52-week high $30.22$108.69$80.47 $779.14
52-week low $13.88$52.11$55.34 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleHELEPNRAOS
P/E now vs peer median -7.0xmedian 15.8x 17.1xmedian 25.8x 17.4xmedian 20.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 0.7x 2.6xmedian 1.9x 2.2xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 9.6x 13.2xmedian 14.6x 11.8xmedian 12.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 12.1x 16.2xmedian 22.2x 15.2xmedian 16.9x
P/B now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.2x 2.7xmedian 2.2x 4.7xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.18median 0.63 2.23median 1.45 0.77median 1.13

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsHELEPNRAOS
Revenue $1.83B $3.97B $3.80B
Gross profit $864.98M $1.64B $1.47B
Operating income $23.94M $777.40M $668.30M
Net income -$99.23M $612.20M $494.60M
Free cash flow $147.21M $646.60M $561.70M
R&D – $94.10M –
EPS (diluted) $-4.11 $3.82 $3.63
Cash & equivalents $22.58M $74.00M $234.50M
Total debt $3.17B $1.48B $673.10M
Shares (diluted) 24.15M 160.30M 136.10M
Enterprise value $581.42M $10.22B $7.73B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricHELEPNRAOS
P/E -7.0x 17.1x 17.4x
P/FCF 4.7x 16.2x 15.2x
P/Operating cash flow 3.9x 14.5x 13.9x
P/S 0.4x 2.6x 2.2x
P/B 0.8x 2.7x 4.7x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 3.7x 6.9x
EV/EBITDA 17.1x 13.2x 11.8x
EV/EBIT 56.1x 15.3x 13.4x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 3.0x 2.4x
EV/FCF 9.1x 18.4x 16.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.5x 16.4x 14.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.18 2.23 0.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHELEPNRAOS
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.3% -3.9% -0.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -3.1% -1.3% 0.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 0.5% -1.2% -0.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.7% 3.4% 0.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 103.7% -8.3% -7.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -52.1% 4.4% -3.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 84.9% -6.4% -6.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -39.6% 6.3% 18.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 85.7% -3.6% -3.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -39.5% 7.7% 22.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 97.1% -14.8% -6.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -25.9% 6.8% -0.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 192.7% -17.4% -1.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -25.7% 7.7% 0.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHELEPNRAOS
Gross margin 47.4% 41.2% 38.6%
EBITDA margin 4.3% 22.7% 20.1%
Operating margin 1.3% 19.6% 17.6%
Pretax margin -1.5% 17.5% 16.8%
Net margin -5.4% 15.4% 13.0%
FCF margin 8.1% 16.3% 14.8%
Operating cash flow margin 9.8% 18.3% 16.1%
Return on equity -11.7% 16.1% 27.0%
Return on assets -4.8% 9.2% 13.6%
Return on invested capital 1.6% 12.5% 20.8%
Return on capital employed 1.5% 13.5% 24.0%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.6x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -1.8x 1.2x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.8% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHELEPNRAOS
Debt / assets 32.1% 22.3% 18.4%
Debt / equity 0.8x 0.4x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 8.3x 1.6x 0.6x
Debt / FCF 4.6x 2.3x 1.2x
Liabilities / assets 59.3% 42.1% 50.1%
Equity / assets 40.7% 57.9% 49.9%
Interest coverage 0.5x – 26.4x
Current ratio 1.7x 1.5x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.7x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.1x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.74 3.96 6.22

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHELEPNRAOS
Dividend yield – 1.6% 2.3%
Net buyback yield -0.1% 3.8% 3.8%
Shareholder yield -0.1% 5.5% 6.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 28.1% 40.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 26.6% 35.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 6.5% 2.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 6.2% 3.1%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusHELEPNRAOS
Forward P/E 7.9xFY2026 14.5xFY2026 17.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.74FY2026 $4.55FY2026 $3.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.4%FY2026 -7.5%FY2026 -6.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.9% +17.6% +15.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.76BFY2026 $3.86BFY2026 $3.73BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.8%FY2026 -7.5%FY2026 -2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -2.6% +10.5% +3.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHELEPNRAOS
Held by institutions 96.3% 95.0% 91.9%
Institutions holding 199 720 615
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.7% -0.1% +7.1%
Institutions buying 121 353 316
Institutions selling 46 257 226
Buyers to sellers 2.63 1.37 1.40

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

HELEPNRAOS
HELE 1.00 0.25 0.33
PNR 0.25 1.00 0.49
AOS 0.33 0.49 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HELE, PNR and AOS?

Pentair (PNR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Helen Of Troy (HELE) $671.71M, Pentair (PNR) $10.55B, Smith A O (AOS) $8.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, HELE, PNR and AOS?

Pentair (PNR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Helen Of Troy (HELE) -6.8x, Pentair (PNR) 17.2x, Smith A O (AOS) 17.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Helen Of Troy (HELE) is cheapest (Helen Of Troy (HELE) 7.9x, Pentair (PNR) 14.5x, Smith A O (AOS) 17.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Helen Of Troy (HELE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Helen Of Troy (HELE) +0.3%, Pentair (PNR) -3.9%, Smith A O (AOS) -0.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Pentair (PNR) has the highest net margin (Helen Of Troy (HELE) -5.4%, Pentair (PNR) 15.4%, Smith A O (AOS) 13.0%). On return on invested capital, Smith A O (AOS) leads (Helen Of Troy (HELE) 1.6%, Pentair (PNR) 12.5%, Smith A O (AOS) 20.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Helen Of Troy (HELE) returned the most: Helen Of Troy (HELE) +48.0%, Pentair (PNR) -38.9%, Smith A O (AOS) -3.2%. Over five years, Pentair (PNR) compounded fastest (Helen Of Troy (HELE) -33.3%/yr, Pentair (PNR) -2.3%/yr, Smith A O (AOS) -2.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Smith A O (AOS) has the highest dividend yield: Helen Of Troy (HELE) 0.00%, Pentair (PNR) 0.02%, Smith A O (AOS) 0.02%. Helen Of Troy (HELE) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Smith A O (AOS) has been the steadiest (Helen Of Troy (HELE) 54.0%, Pentair (PNR) 36.3%, Smith A O (AOS) 27.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HELE, PNR and AOS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Pentair (PNR) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.