Analyzing Dole (NYSE:DOLE) and Origin Agritech (NASDAQ:SEED)

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) and Origin Agritech (NASDAQ:SEED) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Dole and Origin Agritech”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dole	$9.17 billion	0.16	$51.32 million	$0.53	28.28
Origin Agritech	$12.85 million	1.25	-$7.51 million	N/A	N/A

Dole has higher revenue and earnings than Origin Agritech.

Profitability

This table compares Dole and Origin Agritech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dole	0.56%	7.81%	2.55%
Origin Agritech	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

1.7% of Origin Agritech shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.8% of Dole shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Origin Agritech shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Dole and Origin Agritech, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dole	0	3	0	0	2.00
Origin Agritech	1	0	0	0	1.00

Dole presently has a consensus target price of $15.50, suggesting a potential upside of 3.42%. Given Dole’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Dole is more favorable than Origin Agritech.

Volatility & Risk

Dole has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Origin Agritech has a beta of 1.67, meaning that its share price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Dole beats Origin Agritech on 8 of the 11 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 Origin Agritech

Origin Agritech Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an agricultural biotechnology in the People’s Republic of China. The company engages in the development and distribution of seed products; and research on genetically enhanced breeding technologies in agricultural crops. Its products include corn, soybean, canola, and rice seeds. The company is also involved in the development, production, and distribution of hybrid crop seeds, as well as develops hybrid seed technology. In addition, it operates an e-commerce platform. The company has a collaboration agreement with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the National Maize Improvement Center, Henan Agriculture University, China Agricultural University, and Zhejiang University for seed genetic modifications and biotechnologies. Origin Agritech Limited was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.