If you are an investor who loves to look at under the radar sectors as a way of getting an upper hand, consider looking at the often overlooked marine harvesting industry as a burgeoning source of global food moving forward. Mowi, previously known as Marine Harvest, trades on the Oslo Stock Exchange in Norway under the ticker symbol OSE: MOWI as well as on the OTC market in the United States under the ticker symbol OTCMKTS: MNHVF, meaning North American investors do have an opportunity to invest in the company.
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Mowi’s stock has surged over the past year and is currently trading at right around the 52-week high at a price level of 212.20 NOK. The stock has gained over 30% during the past 52-weeks, and offers a nice 1.39% dividend yield to its shareholders. Mowi has commercial seafood harvesting operations around the world including Norway, Scotland, Canada, Ireland, and Chile, and owns a 25-30% market share of the global trout and salmon harvesting industry. This makes Mowi the largest farmed fish harvesting firm in the world!
The Bearish Case: There is growing criticism of farmed fishing as mass produced forms of food manufacturing, that brings into question if nutritional value is sacrificed. Multiple different diseases and viruses have caused many farms of fish to have to be killed for fear of spreading to humans via consumption.
Final Verdict on Mowi: Mowi certainly has a nice industry moat and a product that is in high demand around the world. For the global leader in farmed salmon, halibut, and trout, amongst others, the stock is reasonably priced with a decent operating and profit margin already in place. The balance sheet could be better, as Mowi carries a lot of debt for a company that is so well established in its space. Still, Mowi has a tremendous opportunity moving forward as long as it continues to execute in an ethical way that does not endanger local wildlife. At its current valuation, Mowi is a great investment for the future, especially considering it pays a healthy dividend as well.