Financial Comparison: Universal (NYSE:UVV) versus Hempacco (NASDAQ:HPCO)

Universal (NYSE:UVV) and Hempacco (NASDAQ:HPCO) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Universal and Hempacco, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Universal	0	2	0	0	2.00
Hempacco	0	0	0	0	0.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.0% of Universal shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.6% of Hempacco shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Universal shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 44.8% of Hempacco shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Universal and Hempacco”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Universal	$2.92 billion	0.39	$32.64 million	$0.77	59.51
Hempacco	$4.05 million	0.00	-$13.13 million	($2.30)	-0.00

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

Profitability

This table compares Universal and Hempacco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Universal	0.67%	3.50%	1.74%
Hempacco	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

Universal has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hempacco has a beta of 2.77, indicating that its stock price is 177% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Universal beats Hempacco on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Universal

Universal Corporation processes and supplies leaf tobacco and plant-based ingredients worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Tobacco Operations; and Ingredients Operations. It is involved in the procuring, financing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products. The company contracts, purchases, processes, and sells flue-cured, burley, and oriental tobaccos that are primarily used in the manufacture of cigarettes; and dark air-cured tobaccos principally used in the manufacture of cigars, natural wrapped cigars and cigarillos, smokeless, and pipe tobacco products. It also provides value-added services, including blending, chemical, and physical testing of tobacco; service cutting for various manufacturers; manufacturing reconstituted leaf tobacco; just-in-time inventory management services; electronic nicotine delivery systems; and smoke testing services for customers. In addition, the company offers testing services for crop protection agents and tobacco constituents in seed, leaf, and finished products, including e-cigarette liquids and vapors; and analytical services that include chemical compound testing in finished tobacco products and mainstream smoke. Further, it provides a various value-added manufacturing processes to produce specialty vegetable and fruit-based ingredients, as well as botanical extracts and flavorings for human and pet food markets; and recycles waste materials from tobacco production. Universal Corporation was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

About Hempacco

Hempacco Co., Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of smokable hemp and herb products in California. It offers The Real Stuff hemp smokables and flavored hemp rolling papers. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. Hempacco Co., Inc. is a subsidiary of Green Globe International, Inc.