Contrasting MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) and Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO)

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) and Vita Coco (NASDAQ:COCO) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares MGP Ingredients and Vita Coco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MGP Ingredients	-48.08%	7.41%	4.32%
Vita Coco	15.50%	31.09%	22.07%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares MGP Ingredients and Vita Coco”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MGP Ingredients	$536.38 million	0.52	-$107.81 million	($11.26)	-1.16
Vita Coco	$706.02 million	4.43	$71.32 million	$1.81	30.10

Vita Coco has higher revenue and earnings than MGP Ingredients. MGP Ingredients is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vita Coco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

77.1% of MGP Ingredients shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of Vita Coco shares are held by institutional investors. 31.7% of MGP Ingredients shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.9% of Vita Coco shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for MGP Ingredients and Vita Coco, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MGP Ingredients	1	2	3	0	2.33
Vita Coco	0	3	8	0	2.73

MGP Ingredients currently has a consensus target price of $26.00, indicating a potential upside of 99.69%. Vita Coco has a consensus target price of $73.50, indicating a potential upside of 34.91%. Given MGP Ingredients’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MGP Ingredients is more favorable than Vita Coco.

Volatility and Risk

MGP Ingredients has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vita Coco has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vita Coco beats MGP Ingredients on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MGP Ingredients

MGP Ingredients, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and supply of distilled spirits, branded spirits, and food ingredients in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Distillery Solutions; Branded Spirits; and Ingredient Solutions. The Distillery Solutions segment provides food grade alcohol for beverage applications that include bourbon, rye, whiskeys, as well as grain neutral spirits, include vodka and gin; and food-grade industrial alcohol, which is used as an ingredient in food products, personal care products, cleaning solutions, pharmaceuticals, and various other products. This segment also offers distillery co-products, such as dried distillers’ grain, fuel-grade alcohol for blending with gasoline, and corn oil; and provides warehouse services, including barrel put away, barrel storage, and barrel retrieval services, as well as blending services. The Branded Spirits segment provides premium plus, ultra-premium, super premium, premium, mid, and value branded distilled spirits, as well as private label products. The Ingredient Solutions segment provides specialty wheat starches for food applications under the Fibersym, Resistant Starch series, and FiberRite RW Resistant Starch names; specialty wheat proteins for food applications under the Arise and Proterra names; gluten-free textured pea proteins; commodity wheat starch for food and non-food applications; and commodity wheat proteins. It sells its products directly or through distributors to manufacturers and processors of finished packaged goods or to bakeries. The company was founded in 1941 and is based in Atchison, Kansas.

About Vita Coco

The Vita Coco Company, Inc. develops, markets, and distributes coconut water products under the Vita Coco brand name in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers coconut oil and coconut milk; juice; Runa, a plant-based energy drink; packaged water under the Ever & Ever brand name; and PWR LIFT, a protein-infused fitness drink. It also provides private label coconut water and oil to retailers. It distributes its products through club, food, drug, mass, convenience, e-commerce, and foodservice channels. The company was formerly known as All Market Inc. and changed its name to The Vita Coco Company, Inc. in September 2021.The Vita Coco Company, Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in New York, New York.