Benzinga’s weekly Stock Wars matches up two leaders in a major industry sector, with the goal of determining which company is the better investment.
This week, the duel is between two wine industry companies: The Duckhorn Portfolio Inc. (NYSE: NAPA) and Willamette Valley Vineyards, Inc. (NASDAQ: WVVI).
The Case For The Duckhorn Portfolio: Founded in 1976 by Dan and Margaret Duckhorn when they opened their merlot-focused Duckhorn Vineyards in California’s Napa Valley, this company encompasses 10 wineries, eight winemaking facilities, seven tasting rooms and more than 800 acres of vineyards spanning 22 estate properties.
The company’s luxury wine brands include Duckhorn Vineyards, Decoy, Kosta Browne, Goldeneye, Paraduxx, Calera, Migration, Canvasback, Greenwing and Postmark, with wines retailing from $20 to $200 and are sold across the U.S. and in 50 countries.
The private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners LLC acquired Duckhorn from another private equity firm, GI Partners, in 2016. The company held its initial public offering on March 17, 2021, with 20 million shares of its common stock to the public with 13.3 million shares being offered by Duckhorn and the remainder offered by its existing stockholder at $15 per share.
According to a Bloomberg report, the shares rose as much as 29% during the first day of trading and closed at $17.18, giving the company a market value of $1.98 billion.
In its most recent earnings report, the fiscal year fourth-quarter data published on Oct. 4, the company reported net sales of $70.9 million, up from $52.2 million in the prior year, and a gross profit of $34.4 million, up from $25.9 million one year before.
Duckhorn’s net income was $7.4 million, or 6 cents per diluted share, versus a net loss of $2.7 million, or -3 cents per diluted share, in the prior-year period, while its adjusted net income was $9.2 million, ...
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