Associated British Foods (ABF) Competitors

Cranswick (LON:CWK) and Associated British Foods (LON:ABF) are both consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Is CWK or ABF a better dividend stock?

Cranswick pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Associated British Foods pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.63 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Cranswick pays out 37.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Associated British Foods pays out 35.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Associated British Foods is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more volatility & risk, CWK or ABF?

Cranswick has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Associated British Foods has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better valuation & earnings, CWK or ABF?

Associated British Foods has higher revenue and earnings than Cranswick. Associated British Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cranswick, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cranswick	£2.72B	1.02	£113.74M	£2.46	2,108.90
Associated British Foods	£19.85B	0.70	£1.41B	£1.77	1,099.53

Does the media refer more to CWK or ABF?

In the previous week, Associated British Foods had 26 more articles in the media than Cranswick. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for Associated British Foods and 0 mentions for Cranswick. Associated British Foods' average media sentiment score of 0.19 beat Cranswick's score of 0.00 indicating that Associated British Foods is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Cranswick	Neutral
Associated British Foods	Neutral

Do analysts recommend CWK or ABF?

Cranswick presently has a consensus price target of GBX 5,370, indicating a potential upside of 3.47%. Associated British Foods has a consensus price target of GBX 2,215, indicating a potential upside of 13.62%. Given Associated British Foods' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Associated British Foods is more favorable than Cranswick.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cranswick	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Associated British Foods	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Is CWK or ABF more profitable?

Associated British Foods has a net margin of 7.25% compared to Cranswick's net margin of 4.35%. Associated British Foods' return on equity of 13.07% beat Cranswick's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cranswick	4.35%	12.64%	8.26%
Associated British Foods	7.25%	13.07%	5.51%

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of CWK or ABF?

71.2% of Cranswick shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.3% of Associated British Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of Cranswick shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Associated British Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Associated British Foods beats Cranswick on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.