Associated British Foods (OTCMKTS:ASBFY) & General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Critical Contrast

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) and Associated British Foods (OTCMKTS:ASBFY) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Dividends

General Mills pays an annual dividend of $2.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Associated British Foods pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. General Mills pays out 52.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. General Mills has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. General Mills is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.7% of General Mills shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of General Mills shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for General Mills and Associated British Foods, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
General Mills	2	15	5	0	2.14
Associated British Foods	2	2	0	1	2.00

General Mills presently has a consensus target price of $53.33, indicating a potential upside of 19.58%. Given General Mills’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe General Mills is more favorable than Associated British Foods.

Risk and Volatility

General Mills has a beta of -0.06, suggesting that its share price is 106% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Associated British Foods has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares General Mills and Associated British Foods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
General Mills	13.51%	21.41%	6.12%
Associated British Foods	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares General Mills and Associated British Foods”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
General Mills	$19.49 billion	1.22	$2.30 billion	$4.65	9.59
Associated British Foods	$25.41 billion	0.71	$1.34 billion	N/A	N/A

General Mills has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Associated British Foods.

Summary

General Mills beats Associated British Foods on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates through four segments: North America Retail; International; Pet; and North America Foodservice. It offers grain, ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and savory snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, unbaked and fully baked frozen dough products, frozen hot snacks, ethnic meals, side dish mixes, frozen breakfast and entrees, nutrition bars, and frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. The company also manufactures and markets pet food products, including dog and cat food; and operates ice cream parlors. It markets its products under the Annie’s, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Bugles, Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, Dunkaroos, Edgard & Cooper, Fiber One, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gardetto’s, Gold Medal, Golden Grahams, Häagen-Dazs, Kitano, Kix, Lärabar, Latina, Lucky Charms, Muir Glen, Nature Valley, Nudges, Oatmeal Crisp, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Progresso, Tastefuls, Total, Totino’s , Trix, True Chews, True Solutions, Wanchai Ferry, Wheaties, Wilderness, and Yoki brands. The company sells its products to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, drug, dollar and discount chains, e-commerce retailers, commercial and noncommercial foodservice distributors and operators, restaurants, convenience stores, and pet specialty stores. General Mills, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About Associated British Foods

Associated British Foods plc operates as a diversified food, ingredients, and retail company worldwide. It operates through five segments: Grocery, Ingredients, Agriculture, Sugar, and Retail. The Grocery segment manufactures and sells grocery products, including hot beverages, sugar and sweeteners, vegetable oils, balsamic vinegars, bread and baked goods, cereals, ethnic foods, and meat products to retail, wholesale, and foodservice businesses. The Ingredients segment manufactures bakers' yeast, bakery ingredients, enzymes, lipids, yeast extracts, and cereal specialties. The Agriculture segment manufactures and sells animal feeds; and provides other products and services for the agriculture sector. The Sugar segment is involved in growing, processing, and selling sugar beet and sugar cane to industrial users. The Retail segment is involved in buying and merchandising clothing and accessories through the Primark and Penneys retail chains, which offer women's, men's, and kids wear, as well as beauty, homeware, and accessories. The company was incorporated in 1934 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Associated British Foods plc operates as a subsidiary of Wittington Investments Limited.