Head to Head Contrast: Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) and Kewpie (OTCMKTS:KWPCY)

Kewpie (OTCMKTS:KWPCY) and Ingredion (NYSE:INGR) are both consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

85.3% of Ingredion shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Ingredion shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Kewpie and Ingredion, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kewpie	0	0	0	0	N/A
Ingredion	0	2	4	0	2.67

Ingredion has a consensus target price of $126.67, suggesting a potential upside of 8.40%. Given Ingredion’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ingredion is more favorable than Kewpie.

Profitability

This table compares Kewpie and Ingredion’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kewpie	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ingredion	7.88%	18.57%	8.29%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Kewpie and Ingredion’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kewpie	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ingredion	$8.16 billion	0.94	$643.00 million	$9.60	12.17

Ingredion has higher revenue and earnings than Kewpie.

Summary

Ingredion beats Kewpie on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kewpie

Kewpie Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacturing, wholesaling, transporting, and warehousing of food products in Japan and internationally. It offers condiments, including mayonnaise and dressings, and vinegar; egg products, such as liquid eggs, frozen eggs, dried eggs, egg spreads, and thick omelets; and delicatessen products comprising salads and delicatessen foods, and packaged salads. The company also provides processed foods consisting of bottled and/or canned foods, such as jams, fruit, pasta sauces, baby foods, and nursing care foods; and fine chemical products, including hyaluronic acid and others. In addition, it produces and sells fresh vegetables, dried meat, and machinery and equipment; provides consigned clerical work; engages in transportation and warehousing of food products, and sells equipment for cars, as well as is involved in the mail-order business. Further, the company offers advertising, publicity, and exhibitions services, as well as financial and business management services. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Ingredion

Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients, and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn, and other starch-based materials to a range of industries in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers starch products for use in a range of processed foods; cornstarch; specialty paper starches for enhanced drainage, fiber retention, oil and grease resistance, improved printability, and biochemical oxygen demand control; starches and specialty starches for textile industry; industrial starches are used in the production of construction materials, textiles, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, as well as in mining and water filtration; and specialty industrial starches for use in biomaterial applications, including biodegradable plastics, fabric softeners and detergents, hair and skin care applications, dusting powders for surgical gloves, and in the production of glass fiber and insulation. It also provides sweetener products comprising glucose syrups, high maltose syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, polyols, maltodextrin, glucose syrup solids, and non-genetically modified organism syrups for applications in food and beverage products, such as baked goods, snack foods, canned fruits, condiments, candy and other sweets, dairy products, ice cream, jams and jellies, prepared mixes, table syrups, and beverages. In addition, the company sells refined corn oil, corn gluten feed, and corn gluten meal; and other products, including fruit and vegetable products, such as concentrates, purees, and essences, as well as pulse proteins and hydrocolloids systems and blends. The company was formerly known as Corn Products International, Inc. and changed its name to Ingredion Incorporated in June 2012. Ingredion Incorporated was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Westchester, Illinois.