Critical Survey: Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) versus Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR)

Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) and Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Limoneira and Lendway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Limoneira	3.24%	3.97%	2.44%
Lendway	N/A	-21.56%	-4.32%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Limoneira and Lendway, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Limoneira	0	1	2	0	2.67
Lendway	0	0	0	0	0.00

Limoneira currently has a consensus price target of $25.33, indicating a potential downside of 5.33%. Given Limoneira’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Limoneira is more favorable than Lendway.

Volatility & Risk

Limoneira has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lendway has a beta of 1.9, suggesting that its stock price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Limoneira and Lendway”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Limoneira	$189.08 million	2.55	$9.40 million	$0.29	92.28
Lendway	$31.58 million	0.24	$2.41 million	($1.98)	-2.12

Limoneira has higher revenue and earnings than Lendway. Lendway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Limoneira, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

64.3% of Limoneira shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.6% of Lendway shares are held by institutional investors. 9.0% of Limoneira shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.2% of Lendway shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Limoneira beats Lendway on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Limoneira

Limoneira Company operates as an agribusiness and real estate development company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three divisions: Agribusiness, Rental Operations, and Real Estate Development. It grows, processes, packs, markets, and sells lemons. The company also grows avocado, oranges, and specialty citrus and other crops, including Moro blood oranges, Cara Cara oranges, Valencia oranges, Minneola tangelos, Star Ruby grapefruit, pummelos, and wine grapes. It has approximately 3,500 acres of lemons planted primarily in Ventura, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, and San Bernardino Counties in California; and Jujuy, Argentina, as well in Yuma County, Arizona, and La Serena, Chile; 1,200 acres of avocados planted in Ventura County; 100 acres of oranges planted in Tulare County, California; and 400 acres of specialty citrus and other crops. In addition, the company rents residential housing units and commercial office buildings, as well as leases approximately 400 acres of its land to third-party agricultural tenants. Further, it is involved in the organic recycling operations; and development of land parcels, multi-family housing, and single-family homes. The company markets and sells its lemons directly to food service, wholesale, and retail customers; avocados, oranges, specialty citrus, and other crops to third-party packinghouses; and wine grapes to wine producers. Limoneira Company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Santa Paula, California.

About Lendway

Lendway, Inc. operates as a specialty agricultural and finance company focusing on making and managing its agricultural investments in the United States and internationally. It owns and operates FarmlandCredit.com, a non-bank lending business that seeks to purchase existing loans and/or originate and fund new loans domestically. The company was formerly known as Insignia Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Lendway, Inc. in August 2023. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.