Critical Review: Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF) vs. Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI)

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

Risk & Volatility

Marzetti has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Village Farms International has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Marzetti and Village Farms International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marzetti	9.93%	18.22%	13.43%
Village Farms International	9.85%	7.62%	5.48%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

66.4% of Marzetti shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.1% of Village Farms International shares are held by institutional investors. 29.3% of Marzetti shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.2% of Village Farms International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Marzetti and Village Farms International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marzetti	$1.93 billion	1.54	$191.61 million	$6.97	15.66
Village Farms International	$215.94 million	1.46	$32.44 million	$0.17	15.18

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Marzetti and Village Farms International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marzetti	1	2	0	0	1.67
Village Farms International	0	2	0	0	2.00

Marzetti presently has a consensus target price of $135.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.71%. Given Marzetti’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Marzetti is more favorable than Village Farms International.

Summary

Marzetti beats Village Farms International on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marzetti

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand. It also manufactures and sells other products to brand license agreements, including Olive Garden dressings, Buffalo Wild Wings sauces, and Chick-fil-A sauces. The company sells its products through sales personnel, food brokers, and distributors to retailers and restaurants. Lancaster Colony Corporation was incorporated in 1961 and is based in Westerville, Ohio.

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.