Comparing Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) and Marine Harvest ASA (OTCMKTS:MHGVY)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyVital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL – Get Free Report) and Marine Harvest ASA (OTCMKTS:MHGVY – Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.
Volatility and Risk
Vital Farms has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marine Harvest ASA has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Vital Farms and Marine Harvest ASA”s 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 | 0.47 | $66.28 million | ($0.04) | -210.00 |
| Marine Harvest ASA | $6.47 billion | 1.77 | $708.93 million | $1.42 | 15.27 |
Marine Harvest ASA has higher revenue and earnings than Vital Farms. Vital Farms is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marine Harvest ASA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Vital Farms and Marine Harvest ASA’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% |
| Marine Harvest ASA | 11.19% | 11.74% | 5.29% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Vital Farms and Marine Harvest ASA, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Vital Farms | 1 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2.29 |
| Marine Harvest ASA | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2.80 |
Vital Farms presently has a consensus price target of $16.73, suggesting a potential upside of 99.13%. Given Vital Farms’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Vital Farms is more favorable than Marine Harvest ASA.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
98.6% of Vital Farms shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of Vital Farms shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Marine Harvest ASA beats Vital Farms on 10 of the 15 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 Marine Harvest ASA
Mowi ASA, a seafood company, farms, produces, and supplies Atlantic salmon products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Feed, Farming, and Sales and Marketing. The company is involved in the salmon feed production, salmon farming and primary processing, and seafood secondary processing activities. It offers whole fish, plain and marinated fillets and steaks, hot- and cold-smoked salmon, burgers and tartars, patties, gravad, sushi, and breaded products under the Ducktrap, MOWI, and Supreme Salmon brands. The company was formerly known as Marine Harvest ASA and changed its name to Mowi ASA in December 2018. Mowi ASA was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Bergen, Norway.