Critical Contrast: Weis Markets (NYSE:WMK) and Innovative Food (OTCMKTS:IVFH)

Innovative Food (OTCMKTS:IVFH) and Weis Markets (NYSE:WMK) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Innovative Food and Weis Markets, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Innovative Food	0	0	0	0	0.00
Weis Markets	0	0	1	0	3.00

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Innovative Food and Weis Markets”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Innovative Food	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.14)	-1.57
Weis Markets	$4.96 billion	0.35	$93.69 million	$4.03	17.63

Weis Markets has higher revenue and earnings than Innovative Food. Innovative Food is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Weis Markets, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

12.7% of Innovative Food shares are held by institutional investors. 13.5% of Innovative Food shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 21.6% of Weis Markets shares are held by 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.

Profitability

This table compares Innovative Food and Weis Markets’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Innovative Food	N/A	N/A	N/A
Weis Markets	1.99%	7.40%	4.97%

Summary

Weis Markets beats Innovative Food on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Innovative Food

Innovative Food Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, distributes specialty food and food related products to restaurants, hotels, country clubs, national chain accounts, casinos, hospitals, and catering houses in the United States. The company distributes perishable and specialty food and food related products, including origin-specific seafood, domestic and imported meats, exotic game and poultry, artisanal cheeses, freshly prepared meals, caviar, wild and cultivated mushrooms, micro-greens, organic farmed and manufactured food products, estate-bottled olive oils and aged vinegars, and curated food gift baskets and gift boxes, as well as a full range of food subscription based offerings. It also provides a line of specialty healthcare related products; and customer service and logistics services. In addition, the company offers its products through business to business and other e-commerce channels, as well as websites comprising www.igourmet.com and www.mouth.com; and directly from its network of vendors and warehouses. Innovative Food Holdings, Inc. is based in Bonita Springs, Florida.

About Weis Markets

Weis Markets, Inc. engages in the retail sale of food through a chain of supermarkets in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. The company’s retail food stores sell groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, pharmacy services, deli products, prepared foods, bakery products, beer and wine, and fuel; and general merchandise items, such as health and beauty care, and household products. It operates stores in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia primarily under the Weis Markets name, as well as Weis, Weis 2 Go, Weis Great Meals Start Here, Weis Gas-n-Go, and Weis Nutri-Facts. Weis Markets, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is based in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.