Head to Head Analysis: Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) vs. Pyxus International (OTCMKTS:PYYX)

Pyxus International (OTCMKTS:PYYX) and Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Pyxus International and Limoneira’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pyxus International	-0.13%	-1.85%	-0.17%
Limoneira	-10.01%	-8.79%	-5.30%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.4% of Limoneira shares are held by institutional investors. 10.0% of Pyxus International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.9% of Limoneira shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Pyxus International and Limoneira, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pyxus International	0	0	0	0	0.00
Limoneira	2	1	2	0	2.00

Limoneira has a consensus target price of $18.50, indicating a potential upside of 31.39%. Given Limoneira’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Limoneira is more favorable than Pyxus International.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pyxus International and Limoneira”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pyxus International	$119.15 million	0.62	$15.17 million	($0.11)	-27.27
Limoneira	$159.72 million	1.60	-$15.98 million	($0.93)	-15.14

Pyxus International has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Limoneira. Pyxus International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Limoneira, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Limoneira beats Pyxus International on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pyxus International

Pyxus International, Inc., an agricultural company, offers value-added products and services to businesses and customers. It also involved in the purchasing, processing, packing, storing, and shipping tobacco to manufacturers of cigarettes and other consumer tobacco products. The company offers its products in China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Russia, Northern Africa, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Old Holdco, Inc. Pyxus International, Inc. was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina.

About Limoneira

Limoneira Company operates as an agribusiness and real estate development company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three divisions: Agribusiness, Rental Operations, and Real Estate Development. It grows, processes, packs, markets, and sells lemons. The company also grows avocado, oranges, and specialty citrus and other crops, including Moro blood oranges, Cara Cara oranges, Valencia oranges, Minneola tangelos, Star Ruby grapefruit, pummelos, and wine grapes. It has approximately 3,500 acres of lemons planted primarily in Ventura, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, and San Bernardino Counties in California; and Jujuy, Argentina, as well in Yuma County, Arizona, and La Serena, Chile; 1,200 acres of avocados planted in Ventura County; 100 acres of oranges planted in Tulare County, California; and 400 acres of specialty citrus and other crops. In addition, the company rents residential housing units and commercial office buildings, as well as leases approximately 400 acres of its land to third-party agricultural tenants. Further, it is involved in the organic recycling operations; and development of land parcels, multi-family housing, and single-family homes. The company markets and sells its lemons directly to food service, wholesale, and retail customers; avocados, oranges, specialty citrus, and other crops to third-party packinghouses; and wine grapes to wine producers. Limoneira Company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Santa Paula, California.