Comparing Associated British Foods (OTCMKTS:ASBFY) & J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF)

J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) and Associated British Foods (OTCMKTS:ASBFY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J & J Snack Foods	0	1	1	0	2.50
Associated British Foods	1	1	0	0	1.50

J & J Snack Foods presently has a consensus price target of $142.50, indicating a potential upside of 23.48%. Given J & J Snack Foods’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe J & J Snack Foods is more favorable than Associated British Foods.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

76.0% of J & J Snack Foods shares are held by institutional investors. 21.8% of J & J Snack Foods shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

J & J Snack Foods has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Associated British Foods has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

J & J Snack Foods pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Associated British Foods pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. J & J Snack Foods pays out 80.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. J & J Snack Foods has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years. J & J Snack Foods is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J & J Snack Foods	4.79%	8.78%	6.09%
Associated British Foods	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares J & J Snack Foods and Associated British 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	$1.57 billion	1.43	$86.55 million	$3.90	29.59
Associated British Foods	$26.11 billion	0.82	$1.85 billion	N/A	N/A

Associated British Foods has higher revenue and earnings than J & J Snack Foods.

Summary

J & J Snack Foods beats Associated British Foods on 11 of the 15 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 Associated British Foods

Associated British Foods plc operates as a diversified food, ingredients, and retail company worldwide. It operates through five segments: Grocery, Ingredients, Agriculture, Sugar, and Retail. The Grocery segment manufactures and sells grocery products, including hot beverages, sugar and sweeteners, vegetable oils, balsamic vinegars, bread and baked goods, cereals, ethnic foods, and meat products to retail, wholesale, and foodservice businesses. The Ingredients segment manufactures bakers' yeast, bakery ingredients, enzymes, lipids, yeast extracts, and cereal specialties. The Agriculture segment manufactures and sells animal feeds; and provides other products and services for the agriculture sector. The Sugar segment is involved in growing, processing, and selling sugar beet and sugar cane to industrial users. The Retail segment is involved in buying and merchandising clothing and accessories through the Primark and Penneys retail chains, which offer women's, men's, and kids wear, as well as beauty, homeware, and accessories. The company was incorporated in 1934 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Associated British Foods plc operates as a subsidiary of Wittington Investments Limited.