S&W Seed (NASDAQ:SANW – Get Free Report) and FMC (NYSE:FMC – Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and profitability.
Profitability
This table compares S&W Seed and FMC’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| S&W Seed | -85.38% | -50.81% | -17.71% |
| FMC | 2.42% | 9.36% | 3.51% |
Risk and Volatility
S&W Seed has a beta of 1.83, meaning that its stock price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FMC has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| S&W Seed | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| FMC | 1 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2.31 |
S&W Seed presently has a consensus target price of $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 7,042.86%. FMC has a consensus target price of $49.58, indicating a potential upside of 43.10%. Given S&W Seed’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe S&W Seed is more favorable than FMC.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
61.7% of S&W Seed shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.9% of FMC shares are held by institutional investors. 11.4% of S&W Seed shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of FMC shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares S&W Seed and FMC”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| S&W Seed | $54.99 million | 0.01 | -$30.03 million | ($14.24) | -0.02 |
| FMC | $4.25 billion | 1.02 | $341.10 million | $0.80 | 43.31 |
FMC has higher revenue and earnings than S&W Seed. S&W Seed is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than FMC, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
FMC beats S&W Seed on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About S&W Seed
S&W Seed Co. engages in the breeding, production, and sale of stevia and alfalfa seeds. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Longmont, CO.
About FMC
FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. It develops, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and biologicals, crop nutrition, and seed treatment products, which are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control. The company markets its products through its own sales organization and through alliance partners, independent distributors, and sales representatives. It operates in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The company was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Receive News & Ratings for S&W Seed Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for S&W Seed and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
