Comparing 22nd Century Group (NASDAQ:XXII) & Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB)

22nd Century Group (NASDAQ:XXII) and Turning Point Brands (NYSE:TPB) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares 22nd Century Group and Turning Point Brands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
22nd Century Group	-80.22%	-388.90%	-62.33%
Turning Point Brands	10.34%	25.32%	9.52%

Risk & Volatility

22nd Century Group has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Turning Point Brands has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

18.1% of 22nd Century Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of Turning Point Brands shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of 22nd Century Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of Turning Point Brands shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares 22nd Century Group and Turning Point Brands”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
22nd Century Group	$24.38 million	0.05	-$15.16 million	($2,986.49)	0.00
Turning Point Brands	$360.66 million	4.92	$39.81 million	$2.39	41.21

Turning Point Brands has higher revenue and earnings than 22nd Century Group. 22nd Century Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Turning Point Brands, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for 22nd Century Group and Turning Point Brands, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
22nd Century Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Turning Point Brands	0	1	5	1	3.00

Turning Point Brands has a consensus price target of $78.8333, suggesting a potential downside of 19.97%. Given Turning Point Brands’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Turning Point Brands is more favorable than 22nd Century Group.

Summary

Turning Point Brands beats 22nd Century Group on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About 22nd Century Group

22nd Century Group, Inc., a tobacco products company, engages in the sale and distribution of its own proprietary new reduced nicotine tobacco products. The company offers reduced nicotine content tobacco plants and very low nicotine combustible cigarette products. It also provides contract manufacturing services for conventional combustible tobacco products for third-party brands. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mocksville, North Carolina.

About Turning Point Brands

Turning Point Brands, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes branded consumer products. The company operates through three segments: Zig-Zag Products, Stoker’s Products, and Creative Distribution Solutions. Zig-Zag Products segment markets and distributes rolling papers, tubes, finished cigars, make-your-own cigar wraps, and related products, as well as lighters and other accessories under the Zig-Zag brand. The Stoker’s Products segment manufactures and markets moist snuff tobacco and loose-leaf chewing tobacco products under the Stoker’s, Beech-Nut, Durango, Trophy, and Wind River brands. Its Creative Distribution Solutions segment market and distribute other products without tobacco and/or nicotine to individual consumers through VaporFi B2C online platform, as well as non-traditional retail through VaporBeast. In addition, it markets and distributes cannabis accessories and tobacco products. The company sells its products to wholesale distributors and retail merchants in the independent and chain convenience stores, tobacco outlets, food stores, mass merchandising, drug store, and non-traditional retail channels. The company was formerly known as North Atlantic Holding Company, Inc. and changed its name to Turning Point Brands, Inc. in November 2015. Turning Point Brands, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.