Comparing Willamette Valley Vineyards (NASDAQ:WVVI) & MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI)

Willamette Valley Vineyards (NASDAQ:WVVI) and MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Willamette Valley Vineyards and MGP Ingredients”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Willamette Valley Vineyards	$39.78 million	0.45	-$120,000.00	($0.53)	-6.85
MGP Ingredients	$703.62 million	0.72	$34.66 million	($0.31)	-77.19

MGP Ingredients has higher revenue and earnings than Willamette Valley Vineyards. MGP Ingredients is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Willamette Valley Vineyards, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Willamette Valley Vineyards and MGP Ingredients, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Willamette Valley Vineyards	1	0	0	0	1.00
MGP Ingredients	1	1	4	0	2.50

MGP Ingredients has a consensus price target of $49.67, suggesting a potential upside of 107.55%. Given MGP Ingredients’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe MGP Ingredients is more favorable than Willamette Valley Vineyards.

Profitability

This table compares Willamette Valley Vineyards and MGP Ingredients’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Willamette Valley Vineyards	-2.58%	-3.94%	-0.92%
MGP Ingredients	-1.08%	10.66%	6.49%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

12.2% of Willamette Valley Vineyards shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.1% of MGP Ingredients shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.5% of Willamette Valley Vineyards shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 34.4% of MGP Ingredients shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Willamette Valley Vineyards has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MGP Ingredients has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

MGP Ingredients beats Willamette Valley Vineyards on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Willamette Valley Vineyards

Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc. produces and sells wine in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Direct Sales and Distributor Sales. It primarily offers Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltliner, Rose, Brut, Brut Rose, and Riesling branded wines under the Willamette Valley Vineyards label; Semi-Sparkling Muscat branded wine under the Tualatin Estate Vineyards label; Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, Malbec, The Griffin, and Viognier branded wines under the Griffin Creek label; and Brut, Brut Rose, and Blanc de Blancs under the Domaine Willamette label. The company also provides Pinot Noir and Chardonnay branded wine under the Elton label; Chrysologue, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon branded wine under the Pambrun label; and Frontiere Syrah, Lisette Rose, Graviére Syrah, Voyageur Syrah, Bourgeois Grenache, and Voltigeur Viognier branded wine under the Maison Bleue label, as well as offers wines under the Natoma, Pere Ami, and Metis labels. It owns and leases approximately 1,018 acres of land. The company markets and sells its wine products through direct sales at the retail locations; mailing lists; and distributors and wine brokers. Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Turner, Oregon.

About MGP Ingredients

MGP Ingredients, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and supply of distilled spirits, branded spirits, and food ingredients in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Distillery Solutions; Branded Spirits; and Ingredient Solutions. The Distillery Solutions segment provides food grade alcohol for beverage applications that include bourbon, rye, whiskeys, as well as grain neutral spirits, include vodka and gin; and food-grade industrial alcohol, which is used as an ingredient in food products, personal care products, cleaning solutions, pharmaceuticals, and various other products. This segment also offers distillery co-products, such as dried distillers’ grain, fuel-grade alcohol for blending with gasoline, and corn oil; and provides warehouse services, including barrel put away, barrel storage, and barrel retrieval services, as well as blending services. The Branded Spirits segment provides premium plus, ultra-premium, super premium, premium, mid, and value branded distilled spirits, as well as private label products. The Ingredient Solutions segment provides specialty wheat starches for food applications under the Fibersym, Resistant Starch series, and FiberRite RW Resistant Starch names; specialty wheat proteins for food applications under the Arise and Proterra names; gluten-free textured pea proteins; commodity wheat starch for food and non-food applications; and commodity wheat proteins. It sells its products directly or through distributors to manufacturers and processors of finished packaged goods or to bakeries. The company was founded in 1941 and is based in Atchison, Kansas.