Financial Review: Ajinomoto (AJINY) & Its Peers

Ajinomoto (OTCMKTS:AJINY) is one of 69 public companies in the “FOOD – MISC/DIVERSIFIED” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Ajinomoto to similar companies based on the strength of its valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Ajinomoto and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ajinomoto	6.02%	10.45%	5.06%
Ajinomoto Competitors	-3.76%	-16.96%	1.87%

Risk and Volatility

Ajinomoto has a beta of 0.52, suggesting that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ajinomoto’s rivals have a beta of 0.83, suggesting that their average share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

54.9% of shares of all “FOOD – MISC/DIVERSIFIED” companies are held by institutional investors. 15.0% of shares of all “FOOD – MISC/DIVERSIFIED” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Ajinomoto pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Ajinomoto pays out 31.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “FOOD – MISC/DIVERSIFIED” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.1% and pay out 33.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Ajinomoto and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ajinomoto	0	1	0	2	3.33
Ajinomoto Competitors	706	3412	3722	151	2.42

As a group, “FOOD – MISC/DIVERSIFIED” companies have a potential upside of 21.50%. Given Ajinomoto’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ajinomoto has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ajinomoto and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ajinomoto	$10.05 billion	$463.80 million	44.22
Ajinomoto Competitors	$8.21 billion	$408.09 million	23.69

Ajinomoto has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Ajinomoto is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Ajinomoto beats its rivals on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

Ajinomoto Company Profile

Ajinomoto Co., Inc. engages in the seasonings and foods, frozen foods, and healthcare and other businesses in Japan and internationally. The Seasonings and Foods segment offers sauces and seasoning products under the AJI-NO-MOTO, HON-DASHI, Cook Do, Ajinomoto KK Consommé, Pure Select Mayonnaise, Ros Dee, Masako, Aji-ngon, Sazón, Sajiku, and CRISPY FRY names; and solutions and ingredients for foodservice and processed food manufacturers, processed foods, and restaurants, as well as industrial, retail, and other applications. This segment also provides instant noodles under the Knorr Cup Soup and YumYum names; coffee beverages under the Birdy and Blendy brands; powdered drink under the Birdy 3in1 name; MAXIM brand products; Chyotto Zeitakuna Kohiten brand products; and gift sets and office supplies comprising coffee vending machines, tea servers, etc. The Frozen Foods segment offers Chinese dumplings, cooked rice, noodles, desserts, shumai, processed chicken, and other products under the AJINOMOTO FRESH FROZEN, Bernardi, FRED’S, Golden Tiger, José Olé, LingLing, POSADA, and TAI PEI brands. The Healthcare and Other segment provides amino acids for applications in various industries, such as pharmaceuticals and foods; contract development and manufacturing services for pharmaceutical intermediates and active ingredients, aseptic fill finish services, etc.; personal care ingredients; and medical foods, crop services, etc. This segment also offers Ajinomoto Build-up Film, an interlayer insulating material for semiconductor packages; fundamental foods under the Glyna and Amino Aile names; sports nutrition supplements under the amino VITAL brand; and functional materials, such as activated carbon, release paper, etc. Ajinomoto Co., Inc. was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.