Critical Analysis: Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF) and Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL)

Village Farms International (NASDAQ:VFF) and Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Village Farms International and Newell Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Village Farms International	12.81%	5.79%	4.02%
Newell Brands	-3.96%	9.17%	2.14%

Risk and Volatility

Village Farms International has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Newell Brands has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Village Farms International and Newell Brands, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Village Farms International	1	1	2	0	2.25
Newell Brands	1	5	4	0	2.30

Newell Brands has a consensus target price of $6.11, indicating a potential upside of 76.11%. Given Newell Brands’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Newell Brands is more favorable than Village Farms International.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

12.2% of Village Farms International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.5% of Newell Brands shares are held by institutional investors. 12.6% of Village Farms International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Newell Brands shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Village Farms International and Newell Brands”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Village Farms International	$215.94 million	1.46	$32.44 million	$0.27	10.11
Newell Brands	$7.20 billion	0.20	-$285.00 million	($0.68)	-5.10

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

Summary

Village Farms International beats Newell Brands on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Village Farms International

Village Farms International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and sells greenhouse-grown tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers in North America. It operates through four segments: Produce, Cannabis-Canada, Cannabis-U.S., and Energy. The company also produces and supplies cannabis products to other licensed providers and provincial governments in Canada and internationally; develops and sells cannabinoid-based health and wellness products, including ingestible, edibles, and topical applications; and produces power. It markets and distributes its products under the Village Farms brand name to retail supermarkets and fresh food distribution companies, as well as products produced under exclusive and non-exclusive arrangements from greenhouse supply partners. The company was formerly known as Village Farms Canada Inc. and changed its name to Village Farms International, Inc. in December 2009. Village Farms International, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Delta, Canada.

About Newell Brands

Newell Brands Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr. Coffee, Oster, and Sunbeam brands; small appliances under the Breville brand name in Europe; food and home storage products under the FoodSaver, Rubbermaid, Ball, and Sistema brands; fresh preserving products; vacuum sealing products; and gourmet cookware, bakeware, and cutlery under the Calphalon brand; and home fragrance products under the WoodWick and Yankee Candle brands. The Learning and Development segment offers writing instruments, including markers and highlighters, pens, and pencils; art products; activity-based products; labeling solutions; and baby gear and infant care products under the Dymo, Elmer's, EXPO, Graco, NUK, Paper Mate, Parker, and Sharpie brands. The Outdoor and Recreation segment provides outdoor and outdoor-related products, inlcuding technical apparel and on-the-go beverageware under the Campingaz, Coleman, Contigo, and Marmot brands. It serves warehouse clubs, department and drug/grocery stores, mass merchants, home centers, commercial products distributors, specialty retailers, office superstores and supply stores, contract stationers, e-commerce retailers, and sporting goods, as well as direct to consumers online, select contract customers, and other professional customers. Newell Brands Inc. was founded in 1903 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.