Financial Comparison: Granite City Food & Brewery (OTCMKTS:GCFB) versus Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (NASDAQ:RMCF)

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (NASDAQ:RMCF) and Granite City Food & Brewery (OTCMKTS:GCFB) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Granite City Food & Brewery has a beta of -0.17, suggesting that its share price is 117% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

50.3% of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory shares are held by institutional investors. 42.2% of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 26.3% of Granite City Food & Brewery shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Granite City Food & Brewery, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory	1	0	0	0	1.00
Granite City Food & Brewery	0	0	0	0	0.00

Given Granite City Food & Brewery’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Granite City Food & Brewery is more favorable than Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Profitability

This table compares Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Granite City Food & Brewery’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory	-13.62%	-62.48%	-19.16%
Granite City Food & Brewery	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Granite City Food & Brewery”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory	$29.58 million	0.80	-$6.12 million	($0.52)	-4.90
Granite City Food & Brewery	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Granite City Food & Brewery has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Summary

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory beats Granite City Food & Brewery on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a confectionery franchisor, manufacturer, and retail operator. It operates through Franchising, Manufacturing, Retail Stores, and Other segments. The company produces approximately 400 chocolate candies and other confectionery products, including clusters, caramels, creams, toffees, mints, and truffles; and offers 15 varieties of caramel apples and other products that are prepared in individual stores, as well as provides ice cream, coffee, and other sundries. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Durango, Colorado.

About Granite City Food & Brewery

Granite City Food & Brewery, Ltd. operates casual dining restaurants in the United States. The company's upscale casual dining restaurants include the Granite City Food & Brewery restaurant that offers various menu items and handcrafted beers, as well as other regional craft beers; and the Cadillac Ranch All American Bar & Grill restaurant that offers American cuisine, including homemade meatloaf and pasta dishes. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota.