Financial Survey: Dole (NYSE:DOLE) versus Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. (NASDAQ:CRESY)

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) and Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. (NASDAQ:CRESY) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Dole has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Dole and Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A.”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dole	$8.97 billion	0.15	$125.51 million	$0.15	93.43
Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A.	$962.99 billion	0.00	$96.15 million	$2.28	4.97

Dole has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A.. Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dole, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

12.9% of Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. shares are held by institutional investors. 41.8% of Dole shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 36.2% of Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Dole and Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A., as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dole	0	2	0	0	2.00
Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A.	0	1	0	0	2.00

Dole presently has a consensus target price of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 14.16%. Given Dole’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Dole is more favorable than Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A..

Dividends

Dole pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. Dole pays out 226.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. pays out 26.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Dole has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Dole and Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dole	0.28%	8.17%	2.62%
Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A.	10.57%	4.65%	1.99%

Summary

Dole beats Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A. on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Cresud S.A.C.I.F. y A.

Cresud Sociedad Anónima, Comercial, Inmobiliaria, Financiera y Agropecuaria, an agricultural company, engages in the production of agricultural commodities in Brazil and other Latin American countries. The company operates through Agricultural Business, and Business Urban Properties and Investments segments. It is also involved in the management, development, and ownership of shopping malls, office buildings, and hotels; sale of grain derivatives, such as flour and oil; production and sale of crops, such as soybean, sugarcane, wheat, corn, oilseed, and sunflower, as well as sorghum and peanuts; and breeding, purchasing, and/or fattening of cattle for sale to slaughterhouses and supermarkets. In addition, it leases its farms to third parties for agriculture, cattle breeding, and seed production; and offers agricultural services. The company was incorporated in 1936 and is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina.