Westrock Coffee (NASDAQ:WEST – Get Free Report) and Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Westrock Coffee and Lifeway Foods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Westrock Coffee | -5.59% | -2,145.68% | -3.52% |
| Lifeway Foods | 6.54% | 17.76% | 13.82% |
Risk and Volatility
Westrock Coffee has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lifeway Foods has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Westrock Coffee | $1.19 billion | 0.58 | -$90.44 million | ($0.75) | -9.55 |
| Lifeway Foods | $229.42 million | 2.07 | $13.86 million | $0.97 | 32.00 |
Lifeway Foods has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Westrock Coffee. Westrock Coffee is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lifeway Foods, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Westrock Coffee and Lifeway Foods, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Westrock Coffee | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.40 |
| Lifeway Foods | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
Westrock Coffee presently has a consensus target price of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.70%. Lifeway Foods has a consensus target price of $34.33, indicating a potential upside of 10.60%. Given Westrock Coffee’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Westrock Coffee is more favorable than Lifeway Foods.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
45.1% of Westrock Coffee shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.4% of Lifeway Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.4% of Westrock Coffee shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.6% of Lifeway Foods shares are owned 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.
Summary
Lifeway Foods beats Westrock Coffee on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Westrock Coffee
Westrock Coffee Company, LLC operates as an integrated coffee, tea, flavors, extracts, and ingredients solutions provider in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Beverage Solutions, and Sustainable Sourcing & Traceability (SS&T). The Beverage Solutions segment provides various packaging, including branded and private label coffee in bags, fractional packs, and single serve cups, as well as extract solutions for applications in cold brew and ready-to-drink offerings. The SS&T segment engages in delivery and settlement of forward sales contracts for green coffee. The company offers coffee sourcing, supply chain management, product development, roasting, packaging, and distribution services to the retail, food service and restaurant, convenience store and travel center, non-commercial account, CPG, and hospitality industries. Westrock Coffee Company, LLC was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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.
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