S&W Seed (NASDAQ:SANW – Get Free Report) and Dole (NYSE:DOLE – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.
Risk & Volatility
S&W Seed has a beta of 1.93, suggesting that its stock price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dole has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares S&W Seed and Dole’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| S&W Seed | -85.38% | -50.81% | -17.71% |
| Dole | 0.56% | 7.81% | 2.52% |
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| S&W Seed | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Dole | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
S&W Seed presently has a consensus target price of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 124,278.11%. Dole has a consensus target price of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.27%. Given S&W Seed’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe S&W Seed is more favorable than Dole.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
61.7% of S&W Seed shares are held by institutional investors. 11.4% of S&W Seed shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares S&W Seed and Dole”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| S&W Seed | $54.99 million | 0.00 | -$30.03 million | ($14.24) | 0.00 |
| Dole | $9.17 billion | 0.16 | $51.32 million | $0.53 | 29.81 |
Dole has higher revenue and earnings than S&W Seed. S&W Seed is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dole, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Dole beats S&W Seed on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About S&W Seed
S&W Seed Co. engages in the breeding, production, and sale of stevia and alfalfa seeds. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Longmont, CO.
About Dole
Dole Food Company, Inc. (Dole) is a producer, marketer and distributor of fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. The Company is a producer of bananas and pineapples, and packaged fruit products, packaged salads and fresh-packed vegetables. The Company has three business segments: fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and packaged foods. The fresh fruit segment contains operating divisions that produce and market fresh fruit to wholesale, retail and institutional customers worldwide. The fresh vegetables segment produces and markets fresh-packed and value-added vegetables and salads to wholesale, retail and institutional customers, primarily in North America and Europe. The packaged foods segment contains several operating divisions that produce and market packaged foods, including fruit, juices, frozen fruit and healthy snack foods. In November 2013, Dole Food Company, Inc announced that an investor group acquired the remaining 60.43% interest in the Company.
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