High Liner Foods (HLF) Competitors

SunOpta (TSE:SOY) and High Liner Foods (TSE:HLF) are both small-cap consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Does the media refer more to SOY or HLF?

In the previous week, High Liner Foods had 3 more articles in the media than SunOpta. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for High Liner Foods and 0 mentions for SunOpta. SunOpta's average media sentiment score of 0.00 equaled High Liner Foods'average media sentiment score.

Company	Overall Sentiment
SunOpta	Neutral
High Liner Foods	Neutral

Do analysts rate SOY or HLF?

High Liner Foods has a consensus price target of C$21.25, indicating a potential upside of 34.32%. Given High Liner Foods' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe High Liner Foods is more favorable than SunOpta.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SunOpta	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
High Liner Foods	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is SOY or HLF more profitable?

High Liner Foods has a net margin of 6.31% compared to SunOpta's net margin of -2.74%. High Liner Foods' return on equity of 15.27% beat SunOpta's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SunOpta	-2.74%	-11.64%	2.68%
High Liner Foods	6.31%	15.27%	5.30%

Which has more volatility and risk, SOY or HLF?

SunOpta has a beta of 2.080469, suggesting that its stock price is 108% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, High Liner Foods has a beta of 0.645233, suggesting that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, SOY or HLF?

High Liner Foods has higher revenue and earnings than SunOpta. SunOpta is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than High Liner 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
SunOpta	C$762.88M	1.34	-C$12.73M	-C$0.06	-144.17
High Liner Foods	C$971.97M	0.47	C$41.70M	C$1.60	9.89

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in SOY or HLF?

34.7% of SunOpta shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.1% of High Liner Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of SunOpta shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 44.3% of High Liner Foods shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

High Liner Foods beats SunOpta on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.