Critical Comparison: Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) versus Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF)

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) and Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF) 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 profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Mission Produce and Armanino Foods of Distinction, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mission Produce	1	1	4	1	2.71
Armanino Foods of Distinction	0	1	1	1	3.00

Mission Produce currently has a consensus price target of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 36.47%. Armanino Foods of Distinction has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.58%. Given Mission Produce’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Mission Produce is more favorable than Armanino Foods of Distinction.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Mission Produce and Armanino Foods of Distinction”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mission Produce	$1.39 billion	0.74	$37.70 million	$0.03	390.80
Armanino Foods of Distinction	$76.10 million	4.86	$18.80 million	$0.63	19.11

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

Risk and Volatility

Mission Produce has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Armanino Foods of Distinction has a beta of 0.09, suggesting that its stock price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

63.6% of Mission Produce shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by institutional investors. 30.8% of Mission Produce shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 30.2% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Mission Produce and Armanino Foods of Distinction’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mission Produce	0.12%	5.91%	3.41%
Armanino Foods of Distinction	24.57%	46.16%	34.56%

Summary

Mission Produce beats Armanino Foods of Distinction on 8 of the 14 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 Armanino Foods of Distinction

Armanino Foods of Distinction, Inc. produces and markets frozen food products in the United States. The company offers gourmet beef, Italian style beef and pork, and smoked turkey meatballs; grated parmesan and 3 cheese blend cheese; and various pesto, such as basil, artichoke, cilantro, dried tomato and garlic, roasted garlic, roasted red bell pepper, and southwest chipotle. It also provides frozen pasta, which includes beef cannelloni, cheese manicotti, cheese stuffed shells, cheese tortellini; pasta sheets, potato gnocchi, and tricolor cheese tortellini, as well as beef, butternut squash, four cheese, cheese and spinach, and wild mushroom ravioli; and various sauces, comprising creamy garlic, alfresco, Bolognese, chimichurri, harissa, and romesco. The company offers its products under the Armanino brand. It markets its products through a network of food brokers and sells to retail and foodservice distributors, club-type stores, and industrial accounts. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Hayward, California.