(DOLE) (DOLE) Competitors

(DOLE) (NYSE:DOLE) and Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, media sentiment, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and community ranking.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of DOLE or LANC?

66.4% of Lancaster Colony shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.8% of (DOLE) shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 29.5% of Lancaster Colony shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media refer more to DOLE or LANC?

In the previous week, (DOLE) had 2 more articles in the media than Lancaster Colony. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for (DOLE) and 7 mentions for Lancaster Colony. Lancaster Colony's average media sentiment score of 0.53 beat (DOLE)'s score of 0.00 indicating that Lancaster Colony is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
(DOLE)	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Lancaster Colony	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher earnings and valuation, DOLE or LANC?

Lancaster Colony has lower revenue, but higher earnings than (DOLE). (DOLE) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lancaster Colony, 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
(DOLE)	$8.25B	0.16	$124.06M	$1.96	7.00
Lancaster Colony	$1.87B	2.49	$158.61M	$5.78	29.29

Is DOLE or LANC more profitable?

Lancaster Colony has a net margin of 8.49% compared to (DOLE)'s net margin of 2.23%. Lancaster Colony's return on equity of 19.01% beat (DOLE)'s return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
(DOLE)	2.23%	8.35%	2.67%
Lancaster Colony	8.49%	19.01%	14.80%

Do analysts recommend DOLE or LANC?

(DOLE) presently has a consensus target price of $16.67, suggesting a potential upside of 21.43%. Lancaster Colony has a consensus target price of $211.50, suggesting a potential upside of 24.94%. Given Lancaster Colony's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Lancaster Colony is more favorable than (DOLE).

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
(DOLE)	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Lancaster Colony	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has more volatility and risk, DOLE or LANC?

(DOLE) has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lancaster Colony has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor DOLE or LANC?

Lancaster Colony received 261 more outperform votes than (DOLE) when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 62.54% of users gave Lancaster Colony an outperform vote while only 59.81% of users gave (DOLE) an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
(DOLE)	Outperform Votes 128 59.81%	Underperform Votes 86 40.19%
Lancaster Colony	Outperform Votes 389 62.54%	Underperform Votes 233 37.46%

Is DOLE or LANC a better dividend stock?

(DOLE) pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Lancaster Colony pays an annual dividend of $3.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. (DOLE) pays out 16.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lancaster Colony pays out 65.7% 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. Lancaster Colony has raised its dividend for 35 consecutive years. (DOLE) is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Lancaster Colony beats (DOLE) on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.