Critical Analysis: Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) versus Oatly Group (NASDAQ:OTLY)

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) and Oatly Group (NASDAQ:OTLY) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Fresh Del Monte Produce and Oatly Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fresh Del Monte Produce	0	1	0	0	2.00
Oatly Group	1	1	3	0	2.40

Oatly Group has a consensus target price of $14.14, indicating a potential upside of 13.74%. Given Oatly Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Oatly Group is more favorable than Fresh Del Monte Produce.

Profitability

This table compares Fresh Del Monte Produce and Oatly Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fresh Del Monte Produce	1.63%	7.61%	4.89%
Oatly Group	-13.81%	-2,479.86%	-16.65%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

64.8% of Fresh Del Monte Produce shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.2% of Oatly Group shares are held by institutional investors. 30.6% of Fresh Del Monte Produce shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Oatly Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Fresh Del Monte Produce and Oatly Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fresh Del Monte Produce	$4.27 billion	0.34	$90.70 million	$1.45	20.95
Oatly Group	$925.00 million	0.43	-$152.77 million	($4.13)	-3.01

Fresh Del Monte Produce has higher revenue and earnings than Oatly Group. Oatly Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fresh Del Monte Produce, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Fresh Del Monte Produce has a beta of 0.22, indicating that its share price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oatly Group has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Fresh Del Monte Produce beats Oatly Group on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Fresh and Value-Added Products, Banana, and Other Products and Services. The company offers pineapples, fresh-cut fruit, fresh-cut vegetables, melons, and vegetables; non-tropical fruits, such as grapes, apples, citrus, blueberries, strawberries, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, and kiwis; other fruit and vegetables, and avocados; and prepared fruit and vegetables, juices, other beverages, and meals and snacks. It also engages in the sale of poultry and meat products; and third-party freight services business. The company offers its products under the Del Monte brand, as well as under other brands, such as UTC, Rosy, Just Juice, Fruitini, Pinkglow, Del Monte Zero, Honeyglow, Rubyglow, Honey Miniglow, Bananinis, Mann, Mann’s Logo, Arcadian Harvest, Nourish Bowls, Broccolini, Caulilini, Better Burger Leaf, Romaleaf, and other regional brands. It markets and distributes its products to retail stores, club stores, convenience stores, wholesalers, distributors, and foodservice operators. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. was founded in 1886 and is based in George Town, Cayman Islands.

About Oatly Group

Oatly Group AB, an oatmilk company, provides a range of plant-based dairy products made from oats in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Asia. It offers Barista edition oatmilk, oatgurts, frozen desserts, ice-creams, and yogurts; cooking products, including cooking cream, in regular and organic, Crème Fraiche, whipping cream, vanilla custard, and spreads in a variety of flavors; and ready-to-go drinks. The company was formerly known as Havre Global AB and changed its name to Oatly Group AB in March 2021. Oatly Group AB was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Malmö, Sweden.