Analyzing CHS (NASDAQ:CHSCP) & Alico (NASDAQ:ALCO)

CHS (NASDAQ:CHSCP) and Alico (NASDAQ:ALCO) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.3% of Alico shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of CHS shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Alico shares are owned by company 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 breakdown of current recommendations for CHS and Alico, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CHS	0	0	0	0	0.00
Alico	1	1	1	0	2.00

Alico has a consensus target price of $45.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.89%. Given Alico’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alico is more favorable than CHS.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares CHS and Alico”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CHS	$35.46 billion	N/A	$597.92 million	N/A	N/A
Alico	$44.07 million	6.43	-$147.33 million	($2.46)	-15.52

CHS has higher revenue and earnings than Alico.

Profitability

This table compares CHS and Alico’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CHS	1.54%	6.51%	2.84%
Alico	-115.00%	-38.92%	-21.04%

Volatility and Risk

CHS has a beta of 0.26, indicating that its stock price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alico has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Alico beats CHS on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CHS

CHS Inc., an integrated agricultural company, engages in the provision of grains, food, and energy resources to businesses and consumers worldwide. It is involved in the operation of petroleum refineries and pipelines; the supply, marketing, and distribution of refined fuels; the blending, sale, and distribution of lubricants; and the supply of propane, asphalt, and other natural gas liquids. The company also processes and sells crude oil into refined petroleum products under the Cenex brand name to member cooperatives and other independent retailers through a network of approximately 1,500 sites and provides transportation services. In addition, it processes and markets grains and oilseeds and offers seeds, crop nutrients, crop protection products, animal feed, animal health products, refined and renewable fuels, as well as refined oils, meal, soy flour, and processed sunflower products. Additionally, it produces and distributes edible oil-based products. CHS Inc. was formerly known as Cenex Harvest States Cooperatives and changed its name to CHS Inc. in August 2003. The company was incorporated in 1936 and is based in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.

About Alico

Alico, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an agribusiness and land management company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Alico Citrus, and Land Management and Other Operations. The Alico Citrus segment engages in planting, owning, cultivating, and/or managing citrus groves to produce fruit for sale to fresh and processed citrus markets, including activities related to the purchase and resale of fruit and value-added services, which include contracting for the harvesting, marketing, and hauling of citrus. The Land Management and Other Operations segment is involved in the activities related to native plant sales, grazing and hunting leasing, management, and/or conservation of unimproved native pastureland; and activities related to rock mining royalties and other insignificant lines of business, as well as in the activities related to owning and/or leasing improved farmland. The company was incorporated in 1960 and is based in Fort Myers, Florida.