Head-To-Head Comparison: J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) and Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA)

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) and Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

J & J Snack Foods has a beta of 0.34, indicating that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seneca Foods has a beta of 0.13, indicating that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares J & J Snack Foods and Seneca Foods”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
J & J Snack Foods	$1.58 billion	1.13	$65.60 million	$3.35	28.12
Seneca Foods	$1.58 billion	0.50	$41.22 million	$8.62	13.51

J & J Snack Foods has higher revenue and earnings than Seneca Foods. Seneca Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than J & J Snack Foods, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares J & J Snack Foods and Seneca Foods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J & J Snack Foods	4.14%	8.73%	6.06%
Seneca Foods	3.73%	9.68%	5.03%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for J & J Snack Foods and Seneca Foods, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J & J Snack Foods	1	2	1	0	2.00
Seneca Foods	0	0	1	0	3.00

J & J Snack Foods currently has a consensus target price of $132.50, indicating a potential upside of 40.64%. Given J & J Snack Foods’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe J & J Snack Foods is more favorable than Seneca Foods.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

76.0% of J & J Snack Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.5% of Seneca Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.4% of J & J Snack Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.4% of Seneca Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

J & J Snack Foods beats Seneca Foods on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About J & J Snack Foods

J&J Snack Foods Corp. engages in the manufacturing of nutritional snack foods and distribution of frozen beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries. It operates through the following segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. The Food Service segment includes soft pretzels, frozen novelties, churros, handheld products, and baked goods. The Retail Supermarkets segment offers soft pretzel products including Superpretzel, frozen juice treats and desserts, including Luigi’s real Italian ice, Minute Maid juice bars and soft frozen lemonade, Whole Fruit frozen fruit bars and sorbet, Philly Swirl cups and sticks, ICEE Squeeze-Up Tubes and dough enrobed handheld products including Patio burritos. The Frozen Beverages segment provides frozen beverages to the food service industry primarily under the names ICEE, SLUSH PUPPIE, and PARROT ICE in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, as well as repair and maintenance services. The company was founded by Gerald B. Shreiber in 1971 and is headquartered in Mount Laurel, NJ.

About Seneca Foods

Seneca Foods Corporation provides packaged fruits and vegetables in the United States and internationally. The company offers canned, frozen, and jarred produce; jarred fruit; and snack chips and other food products under the private label, as well as under various national and regional brands that the company owns or licenses, including Seneca, Libby’s, Aunt Nellie’s, Cherryman, Green Valley, and READ. In addition, it packs canned and frozen vegetables under contract packing agreements. Further, the company engages in the sale of cans, ends, and seeds, as well as trucking and aircraft operations. It provides its products to grocery outlets, including supermarkets, mass merchandisers, limited assortment stores, club stores, and dollar stores; specialty retailers; and food service distributors, restaurant chains, industrial markets, other food packagers, and export customers in approximately 55 countries, as well as federal, state, and local governments for school and other feeding programs. Seneca Foods Corporation was incorporated in 1949 and is headquartered in Fairport, New York.