Head-To-Head Review: John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) and Sysco (NYSE:SYY)

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

Volatility & Risk

John B. Sanfilippo & Son has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sysco has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

John B. Sanfilippo & Son pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Sysco pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. John B. Sanfilippo & Son pays out 15.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sysco pays out 58.1% 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. John B. Sanfilippo & Son has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years and Sysco has increased its dividend for 57 consecutive years. Sysco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

70.6% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.4% of Sysco shares are held by institutional investors. 30.2% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Sysco shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	6.15%	19.54%	11.71%
Sysco	2.17%	109.21%	8.24%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for John B. Sanfilippo & Son and Sysco, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	0	2	1	0	2.33
Sysco	0	6	9	0	2.60

John B. Sanfilippo & Son currently has a consensus target price of $109.00, suggesting a potential upside of 34.20%. Sysco has a consensus target price of $87.85, suggesting a potential upside of 15.34%. Given John B. Sanfilippo & Son’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe John B. Sanfilippo & Son is more favorable than Sysco.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares John B. Sanfilippo & Son and Sysco”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	$1.11 billion	0.86	$58.93 million	$5.99	13.56
Sysco	$82.65 billion	0.44	$1.83 billion	$3.72	20.47

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

Summary

Sysco beats John B. Sanfilippo & Son on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Sysco

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of various food and related products to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other segments. The company distributes frozen food, such as meat, seafood, fully prepared entrées, fruits, vegetables, and desserts; canned and dry food products; fresh meat and seafood products; dairy products; beverages; imported specialties; and fresh produce products. It also supplies various non-food items, including paper products comprising disposable napkins, plates, and cups; tableware consisting of glassware and silverware; cookware, such as pots, pans, and utensils; restaurant and kitchen equipment and supplies; and cleaning supplies. The company serves restaurants, hospitals and nursing facilities, schools and colleges, hotels and motels, industrial caterers, and other foodservice venues. Sysco Corporation was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.