Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) vs. Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF) Critical Comparison

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) and Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Mission Produce and Village Farms International, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mission Produce	1	1	4	1	2.71
Village Farms International	0	2	0	0	2.00

Mission Produce currently has a consensus price target of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 38.71%. Given Mission Produce’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Mission Produce is more favorable than Village Farms International.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

63.6% of Mission Produce shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.1% of Village Farms International shares are held by institutional investors. 30.8% of Mission Produce shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.2% of Village Farms International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Mission Produce and Village Farms International”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	0.73	$37.70 million	$0.03	384.50
Village Farms International	$230.57 million	1.41	$32.44 million	$0.17	15.62

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

Volatility and Risk

Mission Produce has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Village Farms International has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Mission Produce and Village Farms International’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%
Village Farms International	9.85%	7.62%	5.48%

Summary

Mission Produce beats Village Farms International on 9 of the 15 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 Village Farms International

Village Farms International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and sells greenhouse-grown tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers in North America. It operates through four segments: Produce, Cannabis-Canada, Cannabis-U.S., and Energy. The company also produces and supplies cannabis products to other licensed providers and provincial governments in Canada and internationally; develops and sells cannabinoid-based health and wellness products, including ingestible, edibles, and topical applications; and produces power. It markets and distributes its products under the Village Farms brand name to retail supermarkets and fresh food distribution companies, as well as products produced under exclusive and non-exclusive arrangements from greenhouse supply partners. The company was formerly known as Village Farms Canada Inc. and changed its name to Village Farms International, Inc. in December 2009. Village Farms International, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Delta, Canada.