Dole (NYSE:DOLE) & Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF) Critical Survey

Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF) and Dole (NYSE:DOLE) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Armanino Foods of Distinction and Dole, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Armanino Foods of Distinction	0	1	1	1	3.00
Dole	0	3	0	0	2.00

Armanino Foods of Distinction currently has a consensus target price of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.00%. Dole has a consensus target price of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.15%. Given Armanino Foods of Distinction’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Armanino Foods of Distinction is more favorable than Dole.

Dividends

Armanino Foods of Distinction pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Dole pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Armanino Foods of Distinction pays out 31.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Dole pays out 54.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Dole has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Dole is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by institutional investors. 30.2% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 41.8% of Dole shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Armanino Foods of Distinction and Dole”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Armanino Foods of Distinction	$76.10 million	4.84	$18.80 million	$0.63	19.05
Dole	$9.17 billion	0.13	$51.32 million	$0.62	20.88

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

Volatility and Risk

Armanino Foods of Distinction has a beta of 0.11, meaning that its stock price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dole has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Armanino Foods of Distinction and Dole’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Armanino Foods of Distinction	24.57%	46.16%	34.56%
Dole	0.63%	7.06%	2.33%

Summary

Armanino Foods of Distinction beats Dole on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Armanino Foods of Distinction

Armanino Foods of Distinction, Inc. produces and markets frozen food products in the United States. The company offers gourmet beef, Italian style beef and pork, and smoked turkey meatballs; grated parmesan and 3 cheese blend cheese; and various pesto, such as basil, artichoke, cilantro, dried tomato and garlic, roasted garlic, roasted red bell pepper, and southwest chipotle. It also provides frozen pasta, which includes beef cannelloni, cheese manicotti, cheese stuffed shells, cheese tortellini; pasta sheets, potato gnocchi, and tricolor cheese tortellini, as well as beef, butternut squash, four cheese, cheese and spinach, and wild mushroom ravioli; and various sauces, comprising creamy garlic, alfresco, Bolognese, chimichurri, harissa, and romesco. The company offers its products under the Armanino brand. It markets its products through a network of food brokers and sells to retail and foodservice distributors, club-type stores, and industrial accounts. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Hayward, California.

About Dole

Dole Food Company, Inc. (Dole) is a producer, marketer and distributor of fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. The Company is a producer of bananas and pineapples, and packaged fruit products, packaged salads and fresh-packed vegetables. The Company has three business segments: fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and packaged foods. The fresh fruit segment contains operating divisions that produce and market fresh fruit to wholesale, retail and institutional customers worldwide. The fresh vegetables segment produces and markets fresh-packed and value-added vegetables and salads to wholesale, retail and institutional customers, primarily in North America and Europe. The packaged foods segment contains several operating divisions that produce and market packaged foods, including fruit, juices, frozen fruit and healthy snack foods. In November 2013, Dole Food Company, Inc announced that an investor group acquired the remaining 60.43% interest in the Company.