Head to Head Survey: Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) vs. Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM)

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) and Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cal-Maine Foods and Lifeway Foods”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cal-Maine Foods	$2.91 billion	1.02	$316.68 million	$1.17	54.40
Lifeway Foods	$212.50 million	1.57	$13.86 million	$0.70	31.56

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.7% of Cal-Maine Foods shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.4% of Lifeway Foods shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of Cal-Maine Foods shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.6% of Lifeway Foods shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Cal-Maine Foods and Lifeway Foods, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cal-Maine Foods	0	5	1	0	2.17
Lifeway Foods	0	1	2	1	3.00

Cal-Maine Foods currently has a consensus target price of $84.17, suggesting a potential upside of 32.23%. Lifeway Foods has a consensus target price of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 53.92%. Given Lifeway Foods’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lifeway Foods is more favorable than Cal-Maine Foods.

Volatility & Risk

Cal-Maine Foods has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lifeway Foods has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Cal-Maine Foods and Lifeway Foods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cal-Maine Foods	2.32%	2.21%	1.89%
Lifeway Foods	4.48%	12.66%	9.29%

Summary

Lifeway Foods beats Cal-Maine Foods on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cal-Maine Foods

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces, grades, packages, markets, and distributes shell eggs. The company offers specialty shell eggs, such as nutritionally enhanced, cage free, organic, free-range, pasture-raised, and brown eggs under the Egg-Land's Best, Land O' Lakes, Farmhouse Eggs, Sunups, Sunny Meadow, and 4Grain brand names. It sells its products to various customers, including national and regional grocery store chains, club stores, independent supermarkets, foodservice distributors, and egg product consumers primarily in the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western, and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

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.