Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) versus John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) Head-To-Head Analysis

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) and John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Marzetti and John B. Sanfilippo & Son’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marzetti	8.77%	18.87%	14.77%
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	5.32%	17.54%	10.47%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Marzetti and John B. Sanfilippo & Son”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marzetti	$1.91 billion	2.64	$167.35 million	$6.07	30.15
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	$1.11 billion	0.67	$58.93 million	$5.03	12.59

Marzetti has higher revenue and earnings than John B. Sanfilippo & Son. John B. Sanfilippo & Son is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marzetti, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Marzetti and John B. Sanfilippo & Son, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marzetti	0	2	2	0	2.50
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	0	0	0	0	0.00

Marzetti currently has a consensus price target of $206.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.56%. Given Marzetti’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Marzetti is more favorable than John B. Sanfilippo & Son.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

66.4% of Marzetti shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.6% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.5% of Marzetti shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 30.2% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Marzetti has a beta of 0.43, indicating that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, John B. Sanfilippo & Son has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Marzetti pays an annual dividend of $3.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. John B. Sanfilippo & Son pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Marzetti pays out 62.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. John B. Sanfilippo & Son pays out 17.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Marzetti has raised its dividend for 62 consecutive years and John B. Sanfilippo & Son has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Marzetti is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Marzetti beats John B. Sanfilippo & Son on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marzetti

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand. It also manufactures and sells other products to brand license agreements, including Olive Garden dressings, Buffalo Wild Wings sauces, and Chick-fil-A sauces. The company sells its products through sales personnel, food brokers, and distributors to retailers and restaurants. Lancaster Colony Corporation was incorporated in 1961 and is based in Westerville, Ohio.

About John B. Sanfilippo & Son

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. engages in the processing and distribution of nuts and nut-related products. It offers peanuts, pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds, and other nuts under the brands of Fisher, Orchard Valley Harvest, Squirrel Brand, and Southern Style Nuts. The company was founded by Gaspare Sanfilippo and John B. Sanfilippo in 1922 and is headquartered in Elgin, IL.