Head to Head Comparison: Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEB) and J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF)

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

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	3.23%	8.93%	6.07%
Seneca Foods	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
J & J Snack Foods	$1.58 billion	0.96	$65.60 million	$2.60	31.20
Seneca Foods	$1.77 billion	N/A	N/A	$3.08	57.39

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

76.0% of J & J Snack Foods shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.4% of Seneca Foods shares are held by institutional investors. 20.4% of J & J Snack Foods shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Seneca Foods shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for J & J Snack Foods and Seneca Foods, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J & J Snack Foods	1	1	2	0	2.25
Seneca Foods	0	1	0	0	2.00

J & J Snack Foods presently has a consensus price target of $110.50, indicating a potential upside of 36.20%. Given J & J Snack Foods’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe J & J Snack Foods is more favorable than Seneca Foods.

Summary

J & J Snack Foods beats Seneca Foods on 8 of the 11 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 bottled produce; 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, READ, Green Valley, Paradise, Seneca Farms, and CherryMan. It also packs Green Giant, Le Sueur, and other brands of canned vegetables, as well as select Green Giant frozen vegetables for B&G Foods North America under a contract packing agreement. In addition, the company engages in the sale of cans and ends, 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; and food service distributors, industrial markets, other food packagers, and export customers in 90 countries, as well as federal, state, and local governments for school and other feeding programs. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Marion, New York.