Contrasting Lavoro (NASDAQ:LVRO) and Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP)

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) and Lavoro (NASDAQ:LVRO) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Fresh Del Monte Produce and Lavoro, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fresh Del Monte Produce	0	0	0	0	0.00
Lavoro	2	1	0	0	1.33

Lavoro has a consensus price target of $3.44, suggesting a potential upside of 57.68%. Given Lavoro’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lavoro is more favorable than Fresh Del Monte Produce.

Profitability

This table compares Fresh Del Monte Produce and Lavoro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fresh Del Monte Produce	3.45%	6.52%	4.17%
Lavoro	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Fresh Del Monte Produce and Lavoro”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fresh Del Monte Produce	$4.28 billion	0.40	$142.20 million	$3.06	11.78
Lavoro	$1.89 billion	0.13	-$152.49 million	($1.63)	-1.34

Fresh Del Monte Produce has higher revenue and earnings than Lavoro. Lavoro is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fresh Del Monte Produce, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Fresh Del Monte Produce has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lavoro has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

64.8% of Fresh Del Monte Produce shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.5% of Lavoro shares are held by institutional investors. 30.1% of Fresh Del Monte Produce shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Fresh Del Monte Produce beats Lavoro on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Fresh and Value-Added Products, Banana, and Other Products and Services. The company offers pineapples, fresh-cut fruit, fresh-cut vegetables, melons, and vegetables; non-tropical fruits, such as grapes, apples, citrus, blueberries, strawberries, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, and kiwis; other fruit and vegetables, and avocados; and prepared fruit and vegetables, juices, other beverages, and meals and snacks. It also engages in the sale of poultry and meat products; and third-party freight services business. The company offers its products under the Del Monte brand, as well as under other brands, such as UTC, Rosy, Just Juice, Fruitini, Pinkglow, Del Monte Zero, Honeyglow, Rubyglow, Honey Miniglow, Bananinis, Mann, Mann’s Logo, Arcadian Harvest, Nourish Bowls, Broccolini, Caulilini, Better Burger Leaf, Romaleaf, and other regional brands. It markets and distributes its products to retail stores, club stores, convenience stores, wholesalers, distributors, and foodservice operators. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. was founded in 1886 and is based in George Town, Cayman Islands.

About Lavoro

Lavoro Limited operates as an agricultural inputs retailer. The company operates through three segments: Brazil Cluster, LATAM Cluster, and Crop Care Cluster. It distributes agricultural inputs, such as crop protection, seeds, fertilizers, foliar fertilizers, biologicals, adjuvants, organominerals, and others for the agricultural industry. The company also produces specialty fertilizers, crop protection products, and biological crop inputs. It operates in Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay. The company sells its products through its physical stores and digital channel. Lavoro Limited was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil.