J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) & The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ:HAIN) Head to Head Review

The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ:HAIN) and J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares The Hain Celestial Group and J. M. Smucker”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Hain Celestial Group	$1.56 billion	0.03	-$530.84 million	($5.74)	-0.10
J. M. Smucker	$9.05 billion	1.32	-$138.70 million	($1.30)	-86.12

J. M. Smucker has higher revenue and earnings than The Hain Celestial Group. J. M. Smucker is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Hain Celestial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.0% of The Hain Celestial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.7% of J. M. Smucker shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of The Hain Celestial Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of J. M. Smucker shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares The Hain Celestial Group and J. M. Smucker’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Hain Celestial Group	-35.47%	-3.52%	-0.89%
J. M. Smucker	-1.53%	17.18%	5.76%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for The Hain Celestial Group and J. M. Smucker, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Hain Celestial Group	2	6	0	0	1.75
J. M. Smucker	1	9	9	0	2.42

The Hain Celestial Group presently has a consensus price target of $1.06, suggesting a potential upside of 89.44%. J. M. Smucker has a consensus price target of $121.13, suggesting a potential upside of 8.20%. Given The Hain Celestial Group’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe The Hain Celestial Group is more favorable than J. M. Smucker.

Volatility and Risk

The Hain Celestial Group has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J. M. Smucker has a beta of 0.26, meaning that its stock price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

J. M. Smucker beats The Hain Celestial Group on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The Hain Celestial Group

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. manufactures, markets, and sells organic and natural products in United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and internationally. It operates through two segments: North America and International. The company offers infant formula; infant, toddler, and kids' food; plant-based beverages and frozen desserts, such as soy, rice, oat, and spelt; and condiments. It also provides cooking and culinary oils; cereal bars; fresh and aseptic soups; yogurts; and nut butters. In addition, the company offers hot-eating desserts, refrigerated and frozen plant-based meat-alternative products, jams, fruit spreads, jellies, honey, natural sweeteners, syrups, dessert sauces, and marmalade products, as well as other food products. Further, it provides snack products comprising potato, root vegetable and other exotic vegetable chips, straws, tortilla chips; and personal care products that include hand, skin, hair, and oral care products, as well as deodorants, baby food, sunscreens, and other products under the Alba Botanica, Avalon Organics, Earth's Best, JASON, Live Clean, and Queen Helene brands name. Additionally, the company offers herbal, green, black, wellness, rooibos, and chai tea under the Celestial Seasonings brand. It sells pantry products under the Spectrum, Spectrum Essentials, MaraNatha, Imagine broths, Hain Pure Foods, Health Valley, and Hollywood brands. It sells its products through specialty and natural food distributors, supermarkets, natural food stores, mass-market and e-commerce retailers, food service channels and clubs, and drug and convenience stores. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey.

About J. M. Smucker

The J. M. Smucker Company manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products worldwide. It operates in three segments: U.S. Retail Pet Foods, U.S. Retail Coffee, and U.S. Retail Consumer Foods. The company offers mainstream roast, ground, single serve, and premium coffee; peanut butter and specialty spreads; fruit spreads, toppings, and syrups; jelly products; nut mix products; shortening and oils; frozen sandwiches and snacks; pet food and pet snacks; and foodservice hot beverage, foodservice portion control, and flour products, as well as dog and cat food, frozen handheld products, juices and beverages, and baking mixes and ingredients. It provides its products under the Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, Pup-Peroni, Canine Carry Outs, Folgers, Café Bustelo, Dunkin', Folgers, Café Bustelo, 1850, Jif, Smucker's, Smucker's Uncrustables, Robin Hood, and Five Roses. The company sells its products through direct sales and brokers to food retailers, club stores, discount and dollar stores, online retailers, pet specialty stores, natural foods stores and distributors, drug stores, military commissaries, and mass merchandisers. Smucker Company was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Orrville, Ohio.