Reviewing Associated British Foods (OTCMKTS:ASBFY) & Marine Harvest ASA (OTCMKTS:MHGVY)

Marine Harvest ASA (OTCMKTS:MHGVY) and Associated British Foods (OTCMKTS:ASBFY) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Marine Harvest ASA and Associated British Foods, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marine Harvest ASA	0	2	0	3	3.20
Associated British Foods	2	3	0	1	2.00

Profitability

This table compares Marine Harvest ASA and Associated British Foods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marine Harvest ASA	13.70%	12.23%	5.69%
Associated British Foods	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Marine Harvest ASA pays an annual dividend of $0.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Associated British Foods pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Marine Harvest ASA pays out 29.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility & Risk

Marine Harvest ASA has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Associated British Foods has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Marine Harvest ASA and Associated British Foods”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marine Harvest ASA	$6.47 billion	1.82	$812.34 million	$1.59	14.02
Associated British Foods	$25.41 billion	0.69	$1.34 billion	N/A	N/A

Associated British Foods has higher revenue and earnings than Marine Harvest ASA.

Summary

Marine Harvest ASA beats Associated British Foods on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marine Harvest ASA

Mowi ASA, a seafood company, farms, produces, and supplies Atlantic salmon products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Feed, Farming, and Sales and Marketing. The company is involved in the salmon feed production, salmon farming and primary processing, and seafood secondary processing activities. It offers whole fish, plain and marinated fillets and steaks, hot- and cold-smoked salmon, burgers and tartars, patties, gravad, sushi, and breaded products under the Ducktrap, MOWI, and Supreme Salmon brands. The company was formerly known as Marine Harvest ASA and changed its name to Mowi ASA in December 2018. Mowi ASA was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Bergen, Norway.

About Associated British Foods

Associated British Foods plc operates as a diversified food, ingredients, and retail company worldwide. It operates through five segments: Grocery, Ingredients, Agriculture, Sugar, and Retail. The Grocery segment manufactures and sells grocery products, including hot beverages, sugar and sweeteners, vegetable oils, balsamic vinegars, bread and baked goods, cereals, ethnic foods, and meat products to retail, wholesale, and foodservice businesses. The Ingredients segment manufactures bakers' yeast, bakery ingredients, enzymes, lipids, yeast extracts, and cereal specialties. The Agriculture segment manufactures and sells animal feeds; and provides other products and services for the agriculture sector. The Sugar segment is involved in growing, processing, and selling sugar beet and sugar cane to industrial users. The Retail segment is involved in buying and merchandising clothing and accessories through the Primark and Penneys retail chains, which offer women's, men's, and kids wear, as well as beauty, homeware, and accessories. The company was incorporated in 1934 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Associated British Foods plc operates as a subsidiary of Wittington Investments Limited.