Reviewing Dole (NYSE:DOLE) & CHS (NASDAQ:CHSCP)

CHS (NASDAQ:CHSCP) and Dole (NYSE:DOLE) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares CHS and Dole”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CHS	$35.46 billion	N/A	$597.92 million	N/A	N/A
Dole	$9.17 billion	0.15	$51.32 million	$0.53	27.20

CHS has higher revenue and earnings than Dole.

Profitability

This table compares CHS and Dole’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CHS	1.75%	7.06%	3.09%
Dole	0.56%	7.81%	2.55%

Volatility and Risk

CHS has a beta of 0.26, meaning that its share price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dole has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for CHS and Dole, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CHS	0	0	0	0	0.00
Dole	0	2	0	0	2.00

Dole has a consensus target price of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.00%. Given Dole’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Dole is more favorable than CHS.

About CHS

CHS Inc., an integrated agricultural company, engages in the provision of grains, food, and energy resources to businesses and consumers worldwide. It is involved in the operation of petroleum refineries and pipelines; the supply, marketing, and distribution of refined fuels; the blending, sale, and distribution of lubricants; and the supply of propane, asphalt, and other natural gas liquids. The company also processes and sells crude oil into refined petroleum products under the Cenex brand name to member cooperatives and other independent retailers through a network of approximately 1,500 sites and provides transportation services. In addition, it processes and markets grains and oilseeds and offers seeds, crop nutrients, crop protection products, animal feed, animal health products, refined and renewable fuels, as well as refined oils, meal, soy flour, and processed sunflower products. Additionally, it produces and distributes edible oil-based products. CHS Inc. was formerly known as Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives and changed its name to CHS Inc. in August 2003. The company was incorporated in 1936 and is based in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.

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.