Analyzing Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) and Meiji (OTCMKTS:MEJHY)

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) and Meiji (OTCMKTS:MEJHY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

64.8% of Fresh Del Monte Produce shares are held by institutional investors. 30.6% of Fresh Del Monte Produce shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Fresh Del Monte Produce and Meiji, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fresh Del Monte Produce	0	1	0	0	2.00
Meiji	0	1	0	0	2.00

Profitability

This table compares Fresh Del Monte Produce and Meiji’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fresh Del Monte Produce	1.63%	7.61%	4.89%
Meiji	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Fresh Del Monte Produce and Meiji”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fresh Del Monte Produce	$4.27 billion	0.34	$90.70 million	$1.45	21.14
Meiji	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Fresh Del Monte Produce has higher revenue and earnings than Meiji.

Dividends

Fresh Del Monte Produce pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Meiji pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Fresh Del Monte Produce pays out 82.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Fresh Del Monte Produce has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Fresh Del Monte Produce is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Fresh Del Monte Produce beats Meiji on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Fresh and Value-Added Products, Banana, and Other Products and Services. The company offers pineapples, fresh-cut fruit, fresh-cut vegetables, melons, and vegetables; non-tropical fruits, such as grapes, apples, citrus, blueberries, strawberries, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, and kiwis; other fruit and vegetables, and avocados; and prepared fruit and vegetables, juices, other beverages, and meals and snacks. It also engages in the sale of poultry and meat products; and third-party freight services business. The company offers its products under the Del Monte brand, as well as under other brands, such as UTC, Rosy, Just Juice, Fruitini, Pinkglow, Del Monte Zero, Honeyglow, Rubyglow, Honey Miniglow, Bananinis, Mann, Mann’s Logo, Arcadian Harvest, Nourish Bowls, Broccolini, Caulilini, Better Burger Leaf, Romaleaf, and other regional brands. It markets and distributes its products to retail stores, club stores, convenience stores, wholesalers, distributors, and foodservice operators. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. was founded in 1886 and is based in George Town, Cayman Islands.

About Meiji

Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd., through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of dairy products, confectioneries, nutritional products, and pharmaceuticals in Japan and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Food and Pharmaceutical. It provides yogurt, cheese, drinking milk, beverages, butter, margarine, cream, ice cream, frozen food, chocolates, gummy, chewing gums, sports nutrition products, protein, infant formula, enteral formula, beauty supplements, OTC drugs, feed stuffs, sugar, and corn sweeteners. The company also offers ethical pharmaceutical products, including drugs for infectious and CNC disorders, vaccines, blood plasma products, generic drugs, and animal health products. Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd. was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.