International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) and US Foods (NYSE:USFD) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and US Foods' revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
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International Flavors & Fragrances | $5.14 billion | 6.33 | $455.87 million | $6.17 | 21.21 |
US Foods | $25.94 billion | 0.32 | $385 million | $2.38 | 15.70 |
International Flavors & Fragrances has higher earnings, but lower revenue than US Foods. US Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than International Flavors & Fragrances, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
International Flavors & Fragrances has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, US Foods has a beta of 1.8, suggesting that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
94.4% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.8% of US Foods shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of US Foods shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and US Foods' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
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International Flavors & Fragrances | 7.44% | 11.00% | 5.10% |
US Foods | -0.52% | 4.39% | 1.27% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for International Flavors & Fragrances and US Foods, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
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International Flavors & Fragrances | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2.67 |
US Foods | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2.70 |
International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus target price of $141.1167, indicating a potential upside of 7.81%. US Foods has a consensus target price of $35.80, indicating a potential downside of 4.20%. Given International Flavors & Fragrances' higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe International Flavors & Fragrances is more favorable than US Foods.
Summary
International Flavors & Fragrances beats US Foods on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.