Cadiz (NASDAQ:CDZI) & Adecoagro (NYSE:AGRO) Critical Review

Adecoagro (NYSE:AGRO) and Cadiz (NASDAQ:CDZI) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Adecoagro and Cadiz”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Adecoagro	$1.43 billion	1.07	-$6.76 million	($0.08)	-190.80
Cadiz	$16.31 million	25.22	-$31.14 million	($0.48)	-10.27

Adecoagro has higher revenue and earnings than Cadiz. Adecoagro is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cadiz, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Adecoagro has a beta of 0.08, meaning that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cadiz has a beta of 2.08, meaning that its stock price is 108% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

45.3% of Adecoagro shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.8% of Cadiz shares are held by institutional investors. 6.7% of Adecoagro shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Cadiz shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Adecoagro and Cadiz, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Adecoagro	1	4	2	0	2.14
Cadiz	1	1	2	0	2.25

Adecoagro currently has a consensus price target of $10.84, suggesting a potential downside of 28.98%. Cadiz has a consensus price target of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 102.84%. Given Cadiz’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cadiz is more favorable than Adecoagro.

Profitability

This table compares Adecoagro and Cadiz’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Adecoagro	-0.55%	-1.17%	-0.46%
Cadiz	-206.65%	-93.48%	-24.26%

Summary

Adecoagro beats Cadiz on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Adecoagro

Adecoagro S.A. operates as an agro-industrial company in South America. The company mainly operates through three segments: Farming; Sugar, Ethanol and Energy; and Land Transformation. It engages in farming crops, rice and other agricultural products, dairy operations, and land transformation activities, as well as sugar, ethanol, and energy production activities. The company is involved in the planting, harvesting, and sale of grains, oilseeds, and fibers, including wheat, corn, soybeans, peanuts, cotton, sunflowers, and others; provision of grain warehousing/conditioning, handling, and drying services to third parties; and purchase and sale of crops produced by third parties. It also plants, harvests, processes, and markets rice; and produces and sells raw milk, UHT, cheese, and powder milk. In addition, the company engages in the cultivating and transforming of sugarcane into ethanol, sugar, and electricity. Further, it is involved in the identification and acquisition of underdeveloped and undermanaged farmland, and the realization of value through the strategic disposition of assets. Adecoagro S.A. was founded in 2002 and is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

About Cadiz

Cadiz Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides water solutions in the United States. The company operates through Land and Water Resources; and Water Filtration Technology segments. It offers water supply, water storage, water conveyance, and water filtration services. In addition, the company is involved in the cultivation of grain crops and alfalfa, as well as provides water filtration solutions for impaired or contaminated groundwater sources. It serves public water systems, government agencies, and other clients. Cadiz Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Los Angeles, California.