Reviewing Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL) & Hershey (NYSE:HSY)

Local Bounti (NYSE:LOCL) and Hershey (NYSE:HSY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Local Bounti and Hershey, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Local Bounti	1	0	0	0	1.00
Hershey	1	17	7	0	2.24

Hershey has a consensus price target of $193.81, indicating a potential upside of 11.84%. Given Hershey’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Hershey is more favorable than Local Bounti.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Local Bounti and Hershey”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Local Bounti	$48.37 million	0.37	-$94.38 million	($2.77)	-0.27
Hershey	$11.69 billion	2.98	$883.26 million	$8.84	19.60

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Local Bounti	-130.52%	N/A	-16.45%
Hershey	14.63%	37.12%	12.59%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

28.0% of Local Bounti shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.0% of Hershey shares are held by institutional investors. 14.2% of Local Bounti shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Hershey shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Local Bounti has a beta of 2.88, suggesting that its stock price is 188% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hershey has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Hershey beats Local Bounti on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Local Bounti

Local Bounti Corporation was an indoor agriculture company that used controlled-environment farming to grow fresh produce year-round. Its operations were designed to use hydroponic systems and indoor growing environments, helping provide consistent growing conditions while reducing the distance between farms and consumers. The company produced and marketed leafy greens, lettuce, herbs and other fresh vegetables under the Local Bounti brand. Its products were distributed through retail and food-service channels, with a focus on serving customers in regional markets from its indoor farms in the United States.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery company best known for its chocolate and candy products. Milton S. Hershey established the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894, and the company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate bars, packaged candy, gum, mints and other snacks. Well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers; the company also sells salty snacks under brands such as SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels. Hershey sells its products primarily in North America and also serves consumers in international markets through its operations and distribution partners.