Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) and Post (NYSE:POST) Head-To-Head Analysis

Post (NYSE:POST) and Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Post and Seneca Foods, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Post	1	2	5	0	2.50
Seneca Foods	0	0	1	0	3.00

Post presently has a consensus target price of $125.33, suggesting a potential upside of 27.03%. Given Post’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Post is more favorable than Seneca Foods.

Volatility & Risk

Post has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seneca Foods has a beta of 0.1, suggesting that its share price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Post and Seneca Foods”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Post	$8.16 billion	0.63	$366.90 million	$5.48	18.00
Seneca Foods	$1.61 billion	0.51	$41.22 million	$8.62	13.90

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.8% of Post shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.5% of Seneca Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.4% of Post shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.4% of Seneca Foods shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Post and Seneca Foods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Post	4.62%	10.80%	3.30%
Seneca Foods	2.76%	10.07%	4.96%

Summary

Post beats Seneca Foods on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Post

Post Holdings, Inc. operates as a consumer packaged goods holding company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Post Consumer Brands, Weetabix, Foodservice, and Refrigerated Retail. The Post Consumer Brands segment manufactures, markets, and sells branded and private label ready-to-eat (RTE) cereals under Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, and Malt-O-Meal brand names; hot cereal; peanut butter under the Peter Pan brand; and branded and private label dog and cat food products under Rachael Ray Nutrish, Nature's Recipe, 9Lives, Kibbles 'n Bits and Gravy Train brand names. The Weetabix segment primarily manufactures, markets, and distributes branded and private label RTE cereal under Weetabix and Alpen brands; hot cereals and other cereal-based food products; breakfast drinks; protein-based shakes under the UFIT brand, and nutritional snacks, such as muesli. The Foodservice segment produces and distributes egg products primarily under Papetti's and Abbotsford Farms brands, as well as potato products in the foodservice and food ingredient channels. The segment also manufactures certain meat products. The Refrigerated Retail segment produces and distributes side dish, potato, sausage products under Bob Evans, Bob Evans Farms, and Simply Potatoes brands; eggs and egg products under Bob Evans Egg Whites and Egg Beaters brands; and cheese, and other dairy and refrigerated products under Crystal Farms brand. It serves grocery stores, mass merchandise customers, supercenters, club stores, natural/specialty stores, dollar stores, discounters, wholesalers, convenience stores, pet supply retailers, drug store customers, foodservice distributors, and national restaurant chains, as well as sells its products in the military, ecommerce, and foodservice channels. The company was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.

About Seneca Foods

Seneca Foods Corporation provides packaged fruits and vegetables in the United States and internationally. The company offers canned, frozen, and jarred produce; jarred fruit; 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, Cherryman, Green Valley, and READ. In addition, it packs canned and frozen vegetables under contract packing agreements. Further, the company engages in the sale of cans, ends, and seeds, 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; specialty retailers; and food service distributors, restaurant chains, industrial markets, other food packagers, and export customers in approximately 55 countries, as well as federal, state, and local governments for school and other feeding programs. Seneca Foods Corporation was incorporated in 1949 and is headquartered in Fairport, New York.