Comparing Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL) and FMC (NYSE:FMC)

FMC (NYSE:FMC) and Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Volatility & Risk

FMC has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Local Bounti has a beta of 2.13, indicating that its share price is 113% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares FMC and Local Bounti’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FMC	-64.57%	10.10%	3.24%
Local Bounti	-195.14%	N/A	-21.92%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares FMC and Local Bounti”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FMC	$3.47 billion	0.56	-$2.24 billion	($17.85)	-0.87
Local Bounti	$48.37 million	0.50	-$119.90 million	($7.51)	-0.14

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for FMC and Local Bounti, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FMC	3	8	2	0	1.92
Local Bounti	1	0	0	0	1.00

FMC presently has a consensus target price of $19.59, suggesting a potential upside of 25.85%. Given FMC’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe FMC is more favorable than Local Bounti.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.9% of FMC shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.0% of Local Bounti shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of FMC shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of Local Bounti shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

FMC beats Local Bounti on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FMC

FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. It develops, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and biologicals, crop nutrition, and seed treatment products, which are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control. The company markets its products through its own sales organization and through alliance partners, independent distributors, and sales representatives. It operates in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The company was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

About Local Bounti

Local Bounti Corporation grows and packs fresh greens in the United States. It produces lettuce, herbs, and loose-leaf lettuce. The company sells its products to food retailers and food service distributors. Local Bounti Corporation was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Montana.