Financial Analysis: Kerry Group (OTCMKTS:KRYAY) versus SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL)

SunOpta (NASDAQ:STKL) and Kerry Group (OTCMKTS:KRYAY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SunOpta and Kerry Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SunOpta	$817.72 million	0.94	$15.77 million	N/A	N/A
Kerry Group	$7.64 billion	1.72	$744.85 million	N/A	N/A

Kerry Group has higher revenue and earnings than SunOpta.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for SunOpta and Kerry Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SunOpta	1	2	2	0	2.20
Kerry Group	0	1	3	0	2.75

SunOpta presently has a consensus price target of $8.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.84%. Given SunOpta’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe SunOpta is more favorable than Kerry Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

85.4% of SunOpta shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of Kerry Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of SunOpta shares are held 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.

Volatility & Risk

SunOpta has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kerry Group has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares SunOpta and Kerry Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SunOpta	1.93%	13.31%	3.10%
Kerry Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

SunOpta beats Kerry Group on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SunOpta

SunOpta Inc. engages in manufacture and sale of plant-based and fruit-based food and beverage products in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides plant-based beverages utilizing oat, almond, soy, coconut, rice, hemp, and other bases under the Dream and West Life brands; oat-based creamers under the SOWN brand; ready-to-drink protein shakes; and nut, grain, seed, and legume based beverages; packaged teas and concentrates; and meat and vegetable broths and stocks. It also offers plant-based ingredients, such as oatbase, oatgold, soybase, hempbase, and soypowders and okara; ready-to-eat fruit snacks made from apple purée and juice concentrate in bar, bit, twist, strip and sandwich formats; cold pressed fruit bars; liquid and powder ingredients utilizing oat, soy and hemp bases; ready-to-eat fruit smoothie and chia bowls topped with frozen fruit; consumer products, which includes protein shakes, teas, broths, and fruit snacks; and liquid and dry ingredients for internal use and for sale to other food and beverage manufacturers. It sells its products through various distribution channels including private label products to retail customers; branded products under co-manufacturing agreements to other branded food companies for their distribution; and its own branded products to retail and foodservice customers. The company was formerly known as Stake Technology Ltd. and changed its name to SunOpta Inc. in October 2003. SunOpta Inc. was incorporated in 1973 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

About Kerry Group

Kerry Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides taste and nutrition solutions. The company operates in two segments, Taste & Nutrition, and Dairy Ireland. The Taste & Nutrition segment offers taste and nutrition solutions for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical markets. The Dairy Ireland segment provides value-add dairy ingredients and consumer products, including functional proteins and nutritional bases. It operates in Ireland, rest of Europe, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Kerry Group plc was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Tralee, Ireland.