Comparing Hershey (NYSE:HSY) and Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL)

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) and Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Hershey and Local Bounti, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hershey	1	17	7	0	2.24
Local Bounti	1	0	0	0	1.00

Hershey presently has a consensus price target of $193.81, suggesting a potential upside of 8.91%. Given Hershey’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Hershey is more favorable than Local Bounti.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Hershey and Local Bounti”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hershey	$11.69 billion	3.06	$883.26 million	$8.84	20.13
Local Bounti	$48.37 million	0.42	-$94.38 million	($2.77)	-0.31

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

Profitability

This table compares Hershey and Local Bounti’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hershey	14.63%	37.12%	12.59%
Local Bounti	-130.52%	N/A	-16.45%

Volatility and Risk

Hershey has a beta of 0.08, meaning that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Local Bounti has a beta of 2.88, meaning that its share price is 188% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

58.0% of Hershey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.0% of Local Bounti shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Hershey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.2% of Local Bounti shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Hershey beats Local Bounti on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels. The company provides its products primarily under the Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Brookside, barkTHINS, Cadbury, Good & Plenty, Heath, Kit Kat, Payday, Rolo, Twizzlers, Whoppers, York, Ice Breakers, Breath Savers, Bubble Yum, Lily’s, SkinnyPop, Pirates Booty, Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, and ONE Bar brands, as well as under the Pelon Pelo Rico, IO-IO, and Sofit brands. It markets and sells its products to wholesale distributors, chain grocery stores, mass merchandisers, chain drug stores, vending companies, wholesale clubs, convenience stores, dollar stores, concessionaires, and department stores. The company exports its products in approximately 80 countries worldwide. The Hershey Company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

About Local Bounti

Local Bounti Corporation grows and packs fresh greens in the United States. It produces lettuce, herbs, and loose-leaf lettuce. The company sells its products to food retailers and food service distributors. Local Bounti Corporation was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Montana.