Comparing Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) and Alico (NASDAQ:ALCO)

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) and Alico (NASDAQ:ALCO) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

36.4% of Lifeway Foods shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.3% of Alico shares are held by institutional investors. 18.6% of Lifeway Foods shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Alico shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Lifeway Foods has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alico has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Lifeway Foods and Alico’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lifeway Foods	4.48%	12.66%	9.29%
Alico	8.98%	-20.77%	-11.09%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lifeway Foods and Alico”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lifeway Foods	$242.41 million	1.41	$13.86 million	$0.70	32.31
Alico	$17.07 million	16.34	-$147.33 million	$0.22	170.84

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Lifeway Foods and Alico, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lifeway Foods	0	1	2	1	3.00
Alico	0	1	1	1	3.00

Lifeway Foods presently has a consensus price target of $34.00, indicating a potential upside of 50.34%. Alico has a consensus price target of $45.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.73%. Given Lifeway Foods’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Lifeway Foods is more favorable than Alico.

Dividends

Lifeway Foods pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Alico pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Lifeway Foods pays out 11.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alico pays out 90.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

Lifeway Foods beats Alico on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lifeway Foods

Lifeway Foods, Inc. produces and markets probiotic-based products in the United States and internationally. Its primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product in various organic and non-organic sizes, flavors, and types. The company offers European-style soft cheeses; cream and other products; ProBugs, a line of kefir products designed for children; drinkable yogurt; and fresh made butter and sour cream. It sells its products under the Lifeway, GlenOaks Farms, and Fresh Made brand names, as well as under private labels on behalf of customers primarily through direct sales force, brokers, and distributors. Lifeway Foods, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Morton Grove, Illinois.

About Alico

Alico, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an agribusiness and land management company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Alico Citrus, and Land Management and Other Operations. The Alico Citrus segment engages in planting, owning, cultivating, and/or managing citrus groves to produce fruit for sale to fresh and processed citrus markets, including activities related to the purchase and resale of fruit and value-added services, which include contracting for the harvesting, marketing, and hauling of citrus. The Land Management and Other Operations segment is involved in the activities related to native plant sales, grazing and hunting leasing, management, and/or conservation of unimproved native pastureland; and activities related to rock mining royalties and other insignificant lines of business, as well as in the activities related to owning and/or leasing improved farmland. The company was incorporated in 1960 and is based in Fort Myers, Florida.