Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) & Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Critical Contrast

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) and Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Dollar Tree and Andersons, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dollar Tree	2	13	11	0	2.35
Andersons	0	1	3	1	3.00

Dollar Tree currently has a consensus target price of $131.68, indicating a potential upside of 11.43%. Andersons has a consensus target price of $95.00, indicating a potential upside of 33.86%. Given Andersons’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Andersons is more favorable than Dollar Tree.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.4% of Dollar Tree shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.1% of Andersons shares are held by institutional investors. 7.1% of Dollar Tree shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Andersons shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Dollar Tree and Andersons’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dollar Tree	8.03%	38.61%	9.94%
Andersons	1.62%	16.23%	5.84%

Volatility & Risk

Dollar Tree has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Andersons has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Dollar Tree and Andersons”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dollar Tree	$20.07 billion	1.10	$1.28 billion	$8.19	14.43
Andersons	$11.01 billion	0.22	$95.71 million	$5.18	13.70

Dollar Tree has higher revenue and earnings than Andersons. Andersons is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dollar Tree, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Dollar Tree beats Andersons on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dollar Tree

Dollar Tree, Inc. operates retail discount stores. The company operates in two segments, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar. The Dollar Tree segment offers merchandise at the fixed price of $ 1.25. It provides consumable merchandise, which includes everyday consumables, such as household paper and chemicals, food, candy, health, personal care products, and frozen and refrigerated food; variety merchandise comprising toys, durable housewares, gifts, stationery, party goods, greeting cards, softlines, arts and crafts supplies, and other items; and seasonal goods that include Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine's Day merchandise. It operates stores under the Dollar Tree and Dollar Tree Canada brands, as well as distribution centers in the United States and Canada. The Family Dollar segment operates general merchandise retail discount stores that offer consumable merchandise, which comprise food and beverages, tobacco, health and personal care, household chemicals, paper products, hardware and automotive supplies, diapers, batteries, and pet food and supplies; and home products, including housewares, home décor, and giftware, as well as domestics, such as comforters, sheets, and towels. It also provides apparel and accessories merchandise comprising clothing, fashion accessories, and shoes; and seasonal and electronics merchandise that include Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and Valentine's Day merchandise, as well as personal electronics, which comprise pre-paid cellular phones and services, stationery and school supplies, and toys. Dollar Tree, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Chesapeake, Virginia.

About Andersons

The Andersons, Inc. operates in trade, renewables, and nutrient and industrial sectors in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Egypt, Switzerland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Trade, Renewables, and Nutrient & Industrial. The company’s Trade segment operates grain elevators; stores commodities; and provides grain marketing, risk management, and origination services, as well as sells commodities, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, ethanol, and corn oil. This segment also engages in the commodity merchandising business, as well as offers logistics for physical commodities, such as whole grains, grain products, feed ingredients, domestic fuel products, and other agricultural commodities. Its Renewables segment produces, purchases, and sells ethanol, and co-products, as well as offers facility operations, risk management, and marketing services to the ethanol plants it invests in and operates. The company’s Nutrient & Industrial segment manufactures, distributes, and retails agricultural and related plant nutrients, liquid industrial products, corncob-based products, and pelleted lime and gypsum products, as well as turf fertilizer, pesticide, and herbicide products; and crop nutrients, crop protection chemicals, and seed products, as well as provides application and agronomic services to commercial and family farmers. In addition, this segment produces corncob-based products for laboratory animal bedding and private-label cat litter, as well as absorbents, blast cleaners, carriers, and polishers; professional lawn care products for golf course and turf care markets; fertilizer and weed, and pest control products; dry and liquid agricultural nutrients, pelleted lime, gypsum, and soil amendments; and micronutrients, as well as industrial products comprising nitrogen reagents, calcium nitrate, deicers, and dust abatement products. The Andersons, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is based in Maumee, Ohio.