Cadiz (NASDAQ:CDZI) and Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) Head to Head Comparison

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) and Cadiz (NASDAQ:CDZI) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Calavo Growers has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cadiz has a beta of 1.9, indicating that its share price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Calavo Growers and Cadiz”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Calavo Growers	$693.71 million	0.48	-$1.08 million	$0.88	21.35
Cadiz	$15.05 million	33.40	-$31.14 million	($0.49)	-12.35

Calavo Growers has higher revenue and earnings than Cadiz. Cadiz is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Calavo Growers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Calavo Growers and Cadiz’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Calavo Growers	2.28%	11.73%	7.86%
Cadiz	-217.49%	-97.55%	-24.76%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Calavo Growers and Cadiz, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Calavo Growers	0	2	1	0	2.33
Cadiz	1	1	1	0	2.00

Calavo Growers currently has a consensus target price of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 112.88%. Cadiz has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 65.29%. Given Calavo Growers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Calavo Growers is more favorable than Cadiz.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.3% of Calavo Growers shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.8% of Cadiz shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.2% of Calavo Growers shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Cadiz shares are owned 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.

Summary

Calavo Growers beats Cadiz on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Calavo Growers

Calavo Growers, Inc. markets and distributes avocados, prepared avocados, and other perishable foods to retail grocery and foodservice customers, club stores, mass merchandisers, food distributors, and wholesale customers worldwide. It operates through Grown and Prepared segments. The Grown segment distributes tomatoes and papayas; and procures avocados grown in California, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. The Prepared segment is involved in the distribution of prepared avocado products, salsa, fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, fresh prepared entrees salads, wraps, sandwiches, parfaits, and fresh snacking products, as well as ready-to-heat entrees, other hot bars and various deli items, meals kit components, and salad kits. It offers its products under the Calavo brands and related logos; and Avo Fresco, Bueno, Avo Fresco, Bueno, Calavo Gold, Celebrate the Taste, El Dorado, Taste of Paradise, The First Name in Avocados, The Family of Fresh, ProRipeVIP, RIPE NOW!, Renaissance Food Group, Garden Highway Fresh Cut, Garden Highway, and Garden Highway Chef Essentials trademarks. Calavo Growers, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Santa Paula, California.

About Cadiz

Cadiz Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides water solutions in the United States. The company operates through Land and Water Resources; and Water Filtration Technology segments. It offers water supply, water storage, water conveyance, and water filtration services. In addition, the company is involved in the cultivation of grain crops and alfalfa, as well as provides water filtration solutions for impaired or contaminated groundwater sources. It serves public water systems, government agencies, and other clients. Cadiz Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Los Angeles, California.