Post (NYSE:POST – Get Free Report) and Alico (NASDAQ:ALCO – Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings and dividends.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
94.8% of Post shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.3% of Alico shares are held by institutional investors. 14.1% of Post shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Alico shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Post and Alico’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Post | 3.48% | 13.22% | 3.42% |
| Alico | 8.98% | -20.77% | -11.09% |
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Post | $8.16 billion | 0.45 | $335.70 million | $5.44 | 14.76 |
| Alico | $17.07 million | 17.52 | -$147.33 million | $0.22 | 183.23 |
Post has higher revenue and earnings than Alico. Post is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alico, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Post has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alico has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations for Post and Alico, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Post | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2.38 |
| Alico | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.00 |
Post currently has a consensus target price of $109.00, suggesting a potential upside of 35.71%. Alico has a consensus target price of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.63%. Given Post’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Post is more favorable than Alico.
Summary
Post beats Alico on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Post
Post Holdings, Inc. operates as a consumer packaged goods holding company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Post Consumer Brands, Weetabix, Foodservice, and Refrigerated Retail. The Post Consumer Brands segment manufactures, markets, and sells branded and private label ready-to-eat (RTE) cereals under Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, and Malt-O-Meal brand names; hot cereal; peanut butter under the Peter Pan brand; and branded and private label dog and cat food products under Rachael Ray Nutrish, Nature's Recipe, 9Lives, Kibbles 'n Bits and Gravy Train brand names. The Weetabix segment primarily manufactures, markets, and distributes branded and private label RTE cereal under Weetabix and Alpen brands; hot cereals and other cereal-based food products; breakfast drinks; protein-based shakes under the UFIT brand, and nutritional snacks, such as muesli. The Foodservice segment produces and distributes egg products primarily under Papetti's and Abbotsford Farms brands, as well as potato products in the foodservice and food ingredient channels. The segment also manufactures certain meat products. The Refrigerated Retail segment produces and distributes side dish, potato, sausage products under Bob Evans, Bob Evans Farms, and Simply Potatoes brands; eggs and egg products under Bob Evans Egg Whites and Egg Beaters brands; and cheese, and other dairy and refrigerated products under Crystal Farms brand. It serves grocery stores, mass merchandise customers, supercenters, club stores, natural/specialty stores, dollar stores, discounters, wholesalers, convenience stores, pet supply retailers, drug store customers, foodservice distributors, and national restaurant chains, as well as sells its products in the military, ecommerce, and foodservice channels. The company was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.
About Alico
Alico, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an agribusiness and land management company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Alico Citrus, and Land Management and Other Operations. The Alico Citrus segment engages in planting, owning, cultivating, and/or managing citrus groves to produce fruit for sale to fresh and processed citrus markets, including activities related to the purchase and resale of fruit and value-added services, which include contracting for the harvesting, marketing, and hauling of citrus. The Land Management and Other Operations segment is involved in the activities related to native plant sales, grazing and hunting leasing, management, and/or conservation of unimproved native pastureland; and activities related to rock mining royalties and other insignificant lines of business, as well as in the activities related to owning and/or leasing improved farmland. The company was incorporated in 1960 and is based in Fort Myers, Florida.
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