Smithfield Foods (SFD) Competitors

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) and Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, media sentiment, risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Does the media prefer GIS or SFD?

In the previous week, General Mills had 29 more articles in the media than Smithfield Foods. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for General Mills and 7 mentions for Smithfield Foods. Smithfield Foods' average media sentiment score of 1.30 beat General Mills' score of 0.85 indicating that Smithfield Foods is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
General Mills	22 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Smithfield Foods	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher earnings and valuation, GIS or SFD?

General Mills has higher revenue and earnings than Smithfield Foods. General Mills is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Smithfield Foods, 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
General Mills	$19.49B	1.35	$2.30B	$5.29	9.34
Smithfield Foods	$14.14B	0.66	$892.36M	$2.27	10.40

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in GIS or SFD?

75.7% of General Mills shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of General Mills shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Smithfield Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is GIS or SFD more profitable?

General Mills has a net margin of 15.24% compared to Smithfield Foods' net margin of 0.00%. General Mills' return on equity of 23.46% beat Smithfield Foods' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
General Mills	15.24%	23.46%	6.69%
Smithfield Foods	N/A	N/A	N/A

Do analysts rate GIS or SFD?

General Mills presently has a consensus price target of $55.82, suggesting a potential upside of 12.96%. Smithfield Foods has a consensus price target of $28.44, suggesting a potential upside of 20.50%. Given Smithfield Foods' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Smithfield Foods is more favorable than General Mills.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
General Mills	2 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.11
Smithfield Foods	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.10

Is GIS or SFD a better dividend stock?

General Mills pays an annual dividend of $2.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Smithfield Foods pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. General Mills pays out 46.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Smithfield Foods pays out 44.1% 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. General Mills has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. General Mills is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

General Mills beats Smithfield Foods on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.