Analyzing Heineken (OTCMKTS:HEINY) and MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI)

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) and Heineken (OTCMKTS:HEINY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.1% of MGP Ingredients shares are owned by institutional investors. 34.4% of MGP Ingredients shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for MGP Ingredients and Heineken, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MGP Ingredients	1	1	3	0	2.40
Heineken	0	0	3	3	3.50

MGP Ingredients currently has a consensus price target of $34.00, suggesting a potential upside of 41.73%. Given MGP Ingredients’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe MGP Ingredients is more favorable than Heineken.

Dividends

MGP Ingredients pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Heineken pays an annual dividend of $0.65 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. MGP Ingredients pays out -71.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility & Risk

MGP Ingredients has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Heineken has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MGP Ingredients and Heineken”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MGP Ingredients	$703.62 million	0.73	$34.66 million	($0.67)	-35.81
Heineken	$38.91 billion	1.15	$1.06 billion	N/A	N/A

Heineken has higher revenue and earnings than MGP Ingredients.

Profitability

This table compares MGP Ingredients and Heineken’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MGP Ingredients	-2.56%	9.65%	5.83%
Heineken	N/A	N/A	N/A

About MGP Ingredients

MGP Ingredients, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and supply of distilled spirits, branded spirits, and food ingredients in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Distillery Solutions; Branded Spirits; and Ingredient Solutions. The Distillery Solutions segment provides food grade alcohol for beverage applications that include bourbon, rye, whiskeys, as well as grain neutral spirits, include vodka and gin; and food-grade industrial alcohol, which is used as an ingredient in food products, personal care products, cleaning solutions, pharmaceuticals, and various other products. This segment also offers distillery co-products, such as dried distillers’ grain, fuel-grade alcohol for blending with gasoline, and corn oil; and provides warehouse services, including barrel put away, barrel storage, and barrel retrieval services, as well as blending services. The Branded Spirits segment provides premium plus, ultra-premium, super premium, premium, mid, and value branded distilled spirits, as well as private label products. The Ingredient Solutions segment provides specialty wheat starches for food applications under the Fibersym, Resistant Starch series, and FiberRite RW Resistant Starch names; specialty wheat proteins for food applications under the Arise and Proterra names; gluten-free textured pea proteins; commodity wheat starch for food and non-food applications; and commodity wheat proteins. It sells its products directly or through distributors to manufacturers and processors of finished packaged goods or to bakeries. The company was founded in 1941 and is based in Atchison, Kansas.

About Heineken

Heineken N.V. brews and sells beer and cider in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides soft drinks and water. It offers its beers under the Heineken, Heineken Light, Orchard Thieves, Orchard Thieves Light, Birra Moretti, Coors, Murphy's and Beamish Stouts, Desperados, Tiger, Sol, and Foster's brand, as well as under regional and local brands. The company offers its products to retailers, wholesalers, cafes, bars, pubs, hotels, and restaurants. Heineken N.V. was incorporated in 1864 and is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The company operates as a subsidiary of Heineken Holding N.V.