Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) vs. Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) Financial Comparison

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) and Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Fresh Del Monte Produce and Freshpet, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fresh Del Monte Produce	0	1	0	0	2.00
Freshpet	1	7	10	0	2.50

Freshpet has a consensus target price of $75.31, suggesting a potential upside of 21.41%. Given Freshpet’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Freshpet is more favorable than Fresh Del Monte Produce.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Fresh Del Monte Produce and Freshpet”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fresh Del Monte Produce	$4.27 billion	0.35	$90.70 million	$1.45	21.61
Freshpet	$1.10 billion	2.77	$139.14 million	$3.80	16.32

Freshpet has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Fresh Del Monte Produce. Freshpet is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fresh Del Monte Produce, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Fresh Del Monte Produce and Freshpet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fresh Del Monte Produce	1.63%	7.61%	4.89%
Freshpet	17.28%	5.97%	4.07%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.8% of Fresh Del Monte Produce shares are held by institutional investors. 30.6% of Fresh Del Monte Produce shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Freshpet shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Fresh Del Monte Produce has a beta of 0.22, indicating that its share price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Freshpet has a beta of 1.66, indicating that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Freshpet beats Fresh Del Monte Produce on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Fresh and Value-Added Products, Banana, and Other Products and Services. The company offers pineapples, fresh-cut fruit, fresh-cut vegetables, melons, and vegetables; non-tropical fruits, such as grapes, apples, citrus, blueberries, strawberries, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, and kiwis; other fruit and vegetables, and avocados; and prepared fruit and vegetables, juices, other beverages, and meals and snacks. It also engages in the sale of poultry and meat products; and third-party freight services business. The company offers its products under the Del Monte brand, as well as under other brands, such as UTC, Rosy, Just Juice, Fruitini, Pinkglow, Del Monte Zero, Honeyglow, Rubyglow, Honey Miniglow, Bananinis, Mann, Mann’s Logo, Arcadian Harvest, Nourish Bowls, Broccolini, Caulilini, Better Burger Leaf, Romaleaf, and other regional brands. It markets and distributes its products to retail stores, club stores, convenience stores, wholesalers, distributors, and foodservice operators. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. was founded in 1886 and is based in George Town, Cayman Islands.

About Freshpet

Freshpet, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and markets natural fresh meals and treats for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells dog food, cat food, and dog treats under the Freshpet brand name; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey.