Reviewing The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ:HAIN) and Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY)

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) and The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ:HAIN) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

36.4% of Lifeway Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.0% of The Hain Celestial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.6% of Lifeway Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of The Hain Celestial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Lifeway Foods has a beta of 0.47, meaning that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Hain Celestial Group has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Lifeway Foods and The Hain Celestial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lifeway Foods	4.48%	12.66%	9.29%
The Hain Celestial Group	-22.53%	-5.45%	-1.18%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Lifeway Foods and The Hain Celestial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lifeway Foods	0	1	2	1	3.00
The Hain Celestial Group	3	4	0	0	1.57

Lifeway Foods presently has a consensus price target of $34.00, indicating a potential upside of 51.38%. The Hain Celestial Group has a consensus price target of $0.90, indicating a potential upside of 501.67%. Given The Hain Celestial Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe The Hain Celestial Group is more favorable than Lifeway Foods.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lifeway Foods and The Hain Celestial Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lifeway Foods	$242.41 million	1.40	$13.86 million	$0.70	32.09
The Hain Celestial Group	$1.35 billion	0.01	-$304.92 million	($3.36)	-0.04

Lifeway Foods has higher earnings, but lower revenue than The Hain Celestial Group. The Hain Celestial Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lifeway Foods, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Lifeway Foods beats The Hain Celestial Group on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lifeway Foods

Lifeway Foods, Inc. produces and markets probiotic-based products in the United States and internationally. Its primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product in various organic and non-organic sizes, flavors, and types. The company offers European-style soft cheeses; cream and other products; ProBugs, a line of kefir products designed for children; drinkable yogurt; and fresh made butter and sour cream. It sells its products under the Lifeway, GlenOaks Farms, and Fresh Made brand names, as well as under private labels on behalf of customers primarily through direct sales force, brokers, and distributors. Lifeway Foods, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Morton Grove, Illinois.

About The Hain Celestial Group

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. manufactures, markets, and sells organic and natural products in United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and internationally. It operates through two segments: North America and International. The company offers infant formula; infant, toddler, and kids' food; plant-based beverages and frozen desserts, such as soy, rice, oat, and spelt; and condiments. It also provides cooking and culinary oils; cereal bars; fresh and aseptic soups; yogurts; and nut butters. In addition, the company offers hot-eating desserts, refrigerated and frozen plant-based meat-alternative products, jams, fruit spreads, jellies, honey, natural sweeteners, syrups, dessert sauces, and marmalade products, as well as other food products. Further, it provides snack products comprising potato, root vegetable and other exotic vegetable chips, straws, tortilla chips; and personal care products that include hand, skin, hair, and oral care products, as well as deodorants, baby food, sunscreens, and other products under the Alba Botanica, Avalon Organics, Earth's Best, JASON, Live Clean, and Queen Helene brands name. Additionally, the company offers herbal, green, black, wellness, rooibos, and chai tea under the Celestial Seasonings brand. It sells pantry products under the Spectrum, Spectrum Essentials, MaraNatha, Imagine broths, Hain Pure Foods, Health Valley, and Hollywood brands. It sells its products through specialty and natural food distributors, supermarkets, natural food stores, mass-market and e-commerce retailers, food service channels and clubs, and drug and convenience stores. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey.