Head-To-Head Survey: Alico (NASDAQ:ALCO) versus CHS (NASDAQ:CHSCP)

CHS (NASDAQ:CHSCP) and Alico (NASDAQ:ALCO) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.3% of Alico shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of CHS shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Alico shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares CHS and Alico’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CHS	1.54%	6.51%	2.84%
Alico	-115.00%	-38.92%	-21.04%

Dividends

CHS pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.5%. Alico pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Alico pays out -8.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for CHS and Alico, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CHS	0	0	0	0	0.00
Alico	1	1	1	0	2.00

Alico has a consensus price target of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.86%. Given Alico’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Alico is more favorable than CHS.

Risk & Volatility

CHS has a beta of 0.26, indicating that its share price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alico has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares CHS and Alico”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CHS	$32.64 billion	N/A	$597.92 million	N/A	N/A
Alico	$44.07 million	6.43	-$147.33 million	($2.46)	-15.52

CHS has higher revenue and earnings than Alico.

Summary

Alico beats CHS on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CHS

CHS Inc., an integrated agricultural company, engages in the provision of grains, food, and energy resources to businesses and consumers worldwide. It is involved in the operation of petroleum refineries and pipelines; the supply, marketing, and distribution of refined fuels; the blending, sale, and distribution of lubricants; and the supply of propane, asphalt, and other natural gas liquids. The company also processes and sells crude oil into refined petroleum products under the Cenex brand name to member cooperatives and other independent retailers through a network of approximately 1,500 sites and provides transportation services. In addition, it processes and markets grains and oilseeds and offers seeds, crop nutrients, crop protection products, animal feed, animal health products, refined and renewable fuels, as well as refined oils, meal, soy flour, and processed sunflower products. Additionally, it produces and distributes edible oil-based products. CHS Inc. was formerly known as Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives and changed its name to CHS Inc. in August 2003. The company was incorporated in 1936 and is based in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.

About Alico

Alico, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an agribusiness and land management company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Alico Citrus, and Land Management and Other Operations. The Alico Citrus segment engages in planting, owning, cultivating, and/or managing citrus groves to produce fruit for sale to fresh and processed citrus markets, including activities related to the purchase and resale of fruit and value-added services, which include contracting for the harvesting, marketing, and hauling of citrus. The Land Management and Other Operations segment is involved in the activities related to native plant sales, grazing and hunting leasing, management, and/or conservation of unimproved native pastureland; and activities related to rock mining royalties and other insignificant lines of business, as well as in the activities related to owning and/or leasing improved farmland. The company was incorporated in 1960 and is based in Fort Myers, Florida.