MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) versus Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) Financial Survey

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE:BUD) and MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and MGP Ingredients’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV	12.16%	16.21%	6.99%
MGP Ingredients	-2.56%	9.65%	5.83%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.5% of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.1% of MGP Ingredients shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 34.4% of MGP Ingredients shares are owned 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.

Dividends

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. MGP Ingredients pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV pays out 7.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MGP Ingredients pays out -71.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. MGP Ingredients is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and MGP Ingredients”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV	$58.61 billion	2.04	$5.86 billion	$3.06	19.99
MGP Ingredients	$578.86 million	0.88	$34.66 million	($0.67)	-35.76

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has higher revenue and earnings than MGP Ingredients. MGP Ingredients is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV and MGP Ingredients, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV	0	3	12	1	2.88
MGP Ingredients	1	1	4	0	2.50

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV currently has a consensus price target of $71.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.09%. MGP Ingredients has a consensus price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 66.94%. Given MGP Ingredients’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MGP Ingredients is more favorable than Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV.

Volatility and Risk

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MGP Ingredients has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV beats MGP Ingredients on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV produces, distributes, exports, markets, and sells beer and beverages. It offers a portfolio of approximately 500 beer brands, which primarily include Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois; Beck's, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Michelob Ultra; and Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Castle, Castle Lite, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, and Skol brands. The company operates in North America, Middle America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1366 and is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.

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.