Analyzing Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) and S&W Seed (NASDAQ:SANW)

S&W Seed (NASDAQ:SANW) and Lendway (NASDAQ:LDWY) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for S&W Seed and Lendway, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
S&W Seed	0	0	1	0	3.00
Lendway	0	0	0	0	0.00

S&W Seed currently has a consensus price target of $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 383.83%. Given S&W Seed’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe S&W Seed is more favorable than Lendway.

Profitability

This table compares S&W Seed and Lendway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
S&W Seed	-76.30%	-51.47%	-18.21%
Lendway	N/A	-21.56%	-4.32%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.7% of S&W Seed shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.6% of Lendway shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.4% of S&W Seed shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.2% of Lendway shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

S&W Seed has a beta of 1.88, suggesting that its stock price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lendway has a beta of 1.97, suggesting that its stock price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares S&W Seed and Lendway”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
S&W Seed	$54.81 million	0.28	-$30.03 million	($15.61)	-0.46
Lendway	$31.58 million	0.22	$2.41 million	($1.98)	-1.99

Lendway has lower revenue, but higher earnings than S&W Seed. Lendway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than S&W Seed, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About S&W Seed

S&W Seed Co. engages in the breeding, production, and sale of stevia and alfalfa seeds. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Longmont, CO.

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.