Financial Analysis: Lerøy Seafood Group ASA (OTCMKTS:LYSFY) vs. J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM)

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) and Lerøy Seafood Group ASA (OTCMKTS:LYSFY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

81.7% of J. M. Smucker shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of J. M. Smucker shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for J. M. Smucker and Lerøy Seafood Group ASA, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J. M. Smucker	0	9	9	0	2.50
Lerøy Seafood Group ASA	0	0	0	0	0.00

J. M. Smucker presently has a consensus target price of $123.40, indicating a potential upside of 2.81%. Given J. M. Smucker’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe J. M. Smucker is more favorable than Lerøy Seafood Group ASA.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares J. M. Smucker and Lerøy Seafood Group ASA”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
J. M. Smucker	$9.05 billion	1.41	-$138.70 million	($1.30)	-92.33
Lerøy Seafood Group ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Lerøy Seafood Group ASA has lower revenue, but higher earnings than J. M. Smucker.

Profitability

This table compares J. M. Smucker and Lerøy Seafood Group ASA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J. M. Smucker	-1.53%	17.18%	5.76%
Lerøy Seafood Group ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

J. M. Smucker beats Lerøy Seafood Group ASA on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About J. M. Smucker

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients. It provides its products under the Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, Pup-Peroni, Canine Carry Outs, Folgers, Café Bustelo, Dunkin', Folgers, Café Bustelo, 1850, Jif, Smucker's, Smucker's Uncrustables, Robin Hood, and Five Roses. The company sells its products through direct sales and brokers to food retailers, club stores, discount and dollar stores, online retailers, pet specialty stores, natural foods stores and distributors, drug stores, military commissaries, and mass merchandisers. Smucker Company was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Orrville, Ohio.

About Lerøy Seafood Group ASA

Lerøy Seafood Group ASA produces, processes, markets, sells, and distributes seafood products worldwide. It operates in three segments: Wildcatch; Farming; and Value-Added Processing, Sales and Distribution. The company offers smoked and gravad salmon, and trout products; farmed and wild catch whole fishes; fillets and portions; ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products; fish blocks and cubes; breaded products; pre-fried fish burgers and patties; crustaceans and molluscs; seaweeds; and other products. Lerøy Seafood Group ASA markets its products primarily under the Norway Seafoods, Arctic Supreme, Fjord trout, Aurora Salmon, Fossen, Sea Eagle, Lerøy, and M?r brands to shops, restaurants, canteens, and hotels. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Bergen, Norway. Lerøy Seafood Group ASA is a subsidiary of Austevoll Seafood ASA.