Head-To-Head Analysis: Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF) vs. National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE)

National Vision (NASDAQ:EYE) and Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, dividends, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

National Vision has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Village Farms International has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares National Vision and Village Farms International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Vision	$1.99 billion	0.75	$29.60 million	$0.57	32.83
Village Farms International	$215.94 million	1.07	$32.44 million	$0.35	5.79

Village Farms International has lower revenue, but higher earnings than National Vision. Village Farms International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Vision, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

12.2% of Village Farms International shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of National Vision shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.2% of Village Farms International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares National Vision and Village Farms International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Vision	2.31%	6.41%	2.81%
Village Farms International	18.57%	8.84%	6.30%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for National Vision and Village Farms International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Vision	0	5	7	0	2.58
Village Farms International	1	1	0	0	1.50

National Vision presently has a consensus price target of $30.08, suggesting a potential upside of 60.75%. Given National Vision’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe National Vision is more favorable than Village Farms International.

Summary

Village Farms International beats National Vision on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Vision

National Vision Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an optical retailer in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Owned & Host and Legacy. It offers eyeglasses and contact lenses, and optical accessory products; provides eye exams through its America’s Best, Eyeglass World, Vista Optical, Fred Meyer, and Vista Optical military, as well as Vision Center branded stores; and offers health maintenance organization and optometric services. National Vision Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia.

About Village Farms International

Village Farms International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and sells greenhouse-grown tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers in North America. It operates through four segments: Produce, Cannabis-Canada, Cannabis-U.S., and Energy. The company also produces and supplies cannabis products to other licensed providers and provincial governments in Canada and internationally; develops and sells cannabinoid-based health and wellness products, including ingestible, edibles, and topical applications; and produces power. It markets and distributes its products under the Village Farms brand name to retail supermarkets and fresh food distribution companies, as well as products produced under exclusive and non-exclusive arrangements from greenhouse supply partners. The company was formerly known as Village Farms Canada Inc. and changed its name to Village Farms International, Inc. in December 2009. Village Farms International, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Delta, Canada.