Comparing Innovative Food (OTCMKTS:IVFH) and Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO)

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) and Innovative Food (OTCMKTS:IVFH) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Mission Produce and Innovative Food, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mission Produce	0	1	2	0	2.67
Innovative Food	0	0	0	0	N/A

Mission Produce currently has a consensus price target of $11.50, suggesting a potential downside of 3.12%. Given Mission Produce’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Mission Produce is more favorable than Innovative Food.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

63.6% of Mission Produce shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.7% of Innovative Food shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.6% of Mission Produce shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.5% of Innovative Food shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Mission Produce and Innovative Food’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mission Produce	0.60%	3.98%	2.24%
Innovative Food	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mission Produce and Innovative Food’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mission Produce	$953.90 million	0.88	-$2.80 million	$0.08	148.38
Innovative Food	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.14)	-7.01

Innovative Food has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Mission Produce. Innovative Food is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mission Produce, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Mission Produce beats Innovative Food on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mission Produce

Mission Produce, Inc. engages in the sourcing, farming, packaging, marketing, and distribution of avocados, mangoes, and blueberries to food retailers, distributors, and foodservice customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments, Marketing and Distribution; International Farming; and Blueberries. It also provides ripening, bagging, custom packing, logistical management, and quality assurance services. In addition, the company offers merchandising and promotional support, and insights on market trends, and training services. Mission Produce, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Oxnard, California.

About Innovative Food

Innovative Food Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides specialty food and food related products to restaurants, hotels, country clubs, national chain accounts, casinos, hospitals, and catering houses in the United States. The company distributes approximately 7,000 perishable and specialty food and food related products, including origin-specific seafood, domestic and imported meats, exotic game and poultry, artisanal cheeses, prepared meals, caviar, wild and cultivated mushrooms, micro-greens, organic farmed and manufactured food products, and estate-bottled olive oils and aged vinegars, as well as curated food gift baskets, gift boxes, and a full range of food subscription-based offerings. It also provides a line of specialty healthcare related products; foodservice consulting and advisory services; and sales and brand management services for organic and specialty food consumer packaged goods companies. In addition, the company offers direct to consumer and direct to business specialty food items through its websites igourmet.com and forethegourmet.com; and through other e-commerce channels, as well as operates mouth.com, an online retailer of specialty foods, monthly subscription boxes, and curated gift boxes to consumers and corporate customers. The company provides its products directly from its network of vendors and warehouses. Innovative Food Holdings, Inc. is based in Bonita Springs, Florida.