Tate & Lyle (OTCMKTS:TATYY) & Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) Critical Comparison

Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) and Tate & Lyle (OTCMKTS:TATYY) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Ingredion has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tate & Lyle has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Ingredion pays an annual dividend of $3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Tate & Lyle pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Ingredion pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ingredion has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Ingredion and Tate & Lyle’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ingredion	10.10%	17.32%	9.37%
Tate & Lyle	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ingredion and Tate & Lyle”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ingredion	$7.22 billion	0.96	$729.00 million	$11.16	9.86
Tate & Lyle	$2.21 billion	0.91	$182.45 million	N/A	N/A

Ingredion has higher revenue and earnings than Tate & Lyle.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

85.3% of Ingredion shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of Ingredion shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Tate & Lyle shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Ingredion and Tate & Lyle, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ingredion	0	7	2	0	2.22
Tate & Lyle	1	3	0	1	2.20

Ingredion presently has a consensus price target of $126.43, indicating a potential upside of 14.89%. Given Ingredion’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ingredion is more favorable than Tate & Lyle.

Summary

Ingredion beats Tate & Lyle on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ingredion

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers starch products for use in a range of processed foods; cornstarch; specialty paper starches for enhanced drainage, fiber retention, oil and grease resistance, improved printability, and biochemical oxygen demand control; starches and specialty starches for textile industry; industrial starches are used in the production of construction materials, textiles, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, as well as in mining and water filtration; and specialty industrial starches for use in biomaterial applications, including biodegradable plastics, fabric softeners and detergents, hair and skin care applications, dusting powders for surgical gloves, and in the production of glass fiber and insulation. It also provides sweetener products comprising glucose syrups, high maltose syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, polyols, maltodextrin, glucose syrup solids, and non-genetically modified organism syrups for applications in food and beverage products, such as baked goods, snack foods, canned fruits, condiments, candy and other sweets, dairy products, ice cream, jams and jellies, prepared mixes, table syrups, and beverages. In addition, the company sells refined corn oil, corn gluten feed, and corn gluten meal; and other products, including fruit and vegetable products, such as concentrates, purees, and essences, as well as pulse proteins and hydrocolloids systems and blends. The company was formerly known as Corn Products International, Inc. and changed its name to Ingredion Incorporated in June 2012. Ingredion Incorporated was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Westchester, Illinois.

About Tate & Lyle

Tate & Lyle PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides ingredients and solutions to the food, beverage, and other industries in the United States, the United Kingdom, other European countries, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Food & Beverage Solutions, Sucralose, and Primary Products. The company offers dairy products, soups, sauces, and dressings; bakery products and snacks; texturants; nutritive sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup and dextrose; fibres; and stabilizers and functional systems. It also provides industrial starches; acidulants, such as citric acid; and commodities comprising corn gluten feed, meal, and corn oil. The company was incorporated in 1903 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.