Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL – Get Free Report) and Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC – Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Risk and Volatility
Vital Farms has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pilgrim’s Pride has a beta of 0.27, suggesting that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Vital Farms and Pilgrim’s Pride, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Vital Farms | 1 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2.29 |
| Pilgrim’s Pride | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.12 |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
98.6% of Vital Farms shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.6% of Pilgrim’s Pride shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of Vital Farms shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 82.2% of Pilgrim’s Pride shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Vital Farms and Pilgrim’s Pride”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Vital Farms | $759.44 million | 0.66 | $66.28 million | ($0.04) | -292.50 |
| Pilgrim’s Pride | $18.50 billion | 0.38 | $1.08 billion | $2.30 | 12.85 |
Pilgrim’s Pride has higher revenue and earnings than Vital Farms. Vital Farms is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pilgrim’s Pride, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Vital Farms and Pilgrim’s Pride’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Vital Farms | 0.02% | 3.46% | 2.25% |
| Pilgrim’s Pride | 2.96% | 21.70% | 7.90% |
Summary
Pilgrim’s Pride beats Vital Farms on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Vital Farms
Vital Farms, Inc., a food company, provides pasture-raised products in the United States. It offers shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
About Pilgrim’s Pride
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A. Pilgrim and Aubrey Pilgrim on October 2, 1946, and is headquartered in Greeley, CO.
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