Reviewing Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) and Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL)

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) and Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Mission Produce and Local Bounti, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mission Produce	0	2	3	1	2.83
Local Bounti	1	0	0	0	1.00

Mission Produce presently has a consensus target price of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.64%. Given Mission Produce’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Mission Produce is more favorable than Local Bounti.

Risk and Volatility

Mission Produce has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Local Bounti has a beta of 2.17, indicating that its share price is 117% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Mission Produce and Local Bounti”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mission Produce	$1.39 billion	0.70	$37.70 million	$0.46	29.89
Local Bounti	$48.37 million	0.62	-$94.38 million	($7.51)	-0.18

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

Profitability

This table compares Mission Produce and Local Bounti’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mission Produce	2.48%	8.24%	5.00%
Local Bounti	-195.14%	N/A	-22.18%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

63.6% of Mission Produce shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.0% of Local Bounti shares are owned by institutional investors. 30.9% of Mission Produce shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of Local Bounti shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Mission Produce beats Local Bounti on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mission Produce

Mission Produce, Inc. engages in the sourcing, farming, packaging, marketing, and distribution of avocados, mangoes, and blueberries to food retailers, distributors, and foodservice customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments, Marketing and Distribution; International Farming; and Blueberries. It also provides ripening, bagging, custom packing, logistical management, and quality assurance services. In addition, the company offers merchandising and promotional support, and insights on market trends, and training services. Mission Produce, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Oxnard, California.

About Local Bounti

Local Bounti Corporation grows and packs fresh greens in the United States. It produces lettuce, herbs, and loose-leaf lettuce. The company sells its products to food retailers and food service distributors. Local Bounti Corporation was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Montana.