Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM – Get Free Report) and Alico (NASDAQ:ALCO – Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and dividends.
Profitability
This table compares Cal-Maine Foods and Alico’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Cal-Maine Foods | 10.88% | 11.79% | 10.06% |
| Alico | 8.98% | -20.77% | -11.09% |
Risk and Volatility
Cal-Maine Foods has a beta of 0.23, indicating that its stock price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alico has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Cal-Maine Foods | $2.91 billion | 1.09 | $316.68 million | $6.55 | 10.28 |
| Alico | $44.07 million | 6.59 | -$147.33 million | $0.22 | 177.95 |
Cal-Maine Foods has higher revenue and earnings than Alico. Cal-Maine Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alico, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Cal-Maine Foods and Alico, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Cal-Maine Foods | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Alico | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.00 |
Cal-Maine Foods presently has a consensus price target of $88.86, indicating a potential upside of 31.91%. Alico has a consensus price target of $45.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.94%. Given Cal-Maine Foods’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cal-Maine Foods is more favorable than Alico.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
84.7% of Cal-Maine Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.3% of Alico shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of Cal-Maine Foods shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Alico shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Cal-Maine Foods beats Alico on 8 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 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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