Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) & Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Financial Review

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) and Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Mission Produce and Scotts Miracle-Gro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mission Produce	2.48%	8.24%	5.00%
Scotts Miracle-Gro	3.27%	-79.61%	8.53%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Mission Produce and Scotts Miracle-Gro”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mission Produce	$1.39 billion	0.70	$37.70 million	$0.46	30.02
Scotts Miracle-Gro	$3.41 billion	1.05	$145.20 million	$1.79	34.50

Scotts Miracle-Gro has higher revenue and earnings than Mission Produce. Mission Produce is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Scotts Miracle-Gro, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Mission Produce has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a beta of 1.88, meaning that its stock price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Mission Produce and Scotts Miracle-Gro, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mission Produce	0	2	3	1	2.83
Scotts Miracle-Gro	0	4	4	0	2.50

Mission Produce presently has a consensus price target of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.10%. Scotts Miracle-Gro has a consensus price target of $74.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.81%. Given Mission Produce’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Mission Produce is more favorable than Scotts Miracle-Gro.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

63.6% of Mission Produce shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.1% of Scotts Miracle-Gro shares are held by institutional investors. 30.9% of Mission Produce shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.4% of Scotts Miracle-Gro shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Scotts Miracle-Gro beats Mission Produce on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mission Produce

Mission Produce, Inc. engages in the sourcing, farming, packaging, marketing, and distribution of avocados, mangoes, and blueberries to food retailers, distributors, and foodservice customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments, Marketing and Distribution; International Farming; and Blueberries. It also provides ripening, bagging, custom packing, logistical management, and quality assurance services. In addition, the company offers merchandising and promotional support, and insights on market trends, and training services. Mission Produce, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Oxnard, California.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions. It offers hydroponic products that help users to grow plants, flowers, and vegetables using little or no soil; lighting systems and components for use in hydroponic and indoor gardening applications; insect, rodent, and weed control products for home areas; and non-selective weed killer products. The company sells its products under the Scotts, Turf Builder, EZ Seed, PatchMaster, Thick'R Lawn, GrubEx, EdgeGuard, Handy Green II, Miracle-Gro, LiquaFeed, Shake N Feed, Hyponex, Earthgro, Nature Scapes, Ortho, Miracle-Gro Performance Organics, Miracle-Gro Organic Choice, Whitney Farms, EcoScraps, Mother Earth, Botanicare, General Hydroponics, Cyco, Gavita, Agrolux, HydroLogic Purification System, Gro Pro, AeroGarden, Titan, Tomcat, Ortho Weed B Gon, Roundup, Groundclear, and Alchemist brands. It serves home centers, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, large hardware chains, independent hardware stores, nurseries, garden centers, e-commerce platforms, and food and drug stores, as well as indoor gardening and hydroponic distributors, retailers, and growers. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Marysville, Ohio.