Reviewing McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) and Celsius (NASDAQ:CELH)

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) and Celsius (NASDAQ:CELH) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.7% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.0% of Celsius shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.8% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Celsius 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares McCormick & Company, Incorporated and Celsius”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
McCormick & Company, Incorporated	$6.72 billion	2.66	$788.50 million	$2.89	23.08
Celsius	$1.67 billion	9.40	$145.07 million	$0.37	164.05

McCormick & Company, Incorporated has higher revenue and earnings than Celsius. McCormick & Company, Incorporated is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Celsius, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Celsius has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for McCormick & Company, Incorporated and Celsius, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
McCormick & Company, Incorporated	0	7	4	0	2.36
Celsius	1	4	19	0	2.75

McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has a consensus target price of $78.22, suggesting a potential upside of 17.27%. Celsius has a consensus target price of $63.15, suggesting a potential upside of 4.04%. Given McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe McCormick & Company, Incorporated is more favorable than Celsius.

Profitability

This table compares McCormick & Company, Incorporated and Celsius’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
McCormick & Company, Incorporated	11.46%	14.30%	6.05%
Celsius	7.91%	36.88%	10.24%

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co., Inc. engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces. The Flavor Solutions segment includes seasoning blends, spices and herbs, condiments, coating systems, and compound flavors. The company was founded by Willoughby M. McCormick in 1889 and is headquartered in Baltimore, MD.

About Celsius

Celsius Holdings, Inc. develops, processes, markets, distributes, and sells functional energy drinks and liquid supplements in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canadian, European, Middle Eastern, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company offers CELSIUS, a fitness drink or supplement designed to accelerate metabolism and burn body fat; various flavors and carbonated and non-carbonated functional energy drinks under the CELSIUS Originals and Vibe name, as well as functional energy drink under the CELSIUS Essentials and CELSIUS On-the-Go Powder names; and CELSIUS ready-to drink products. It distributes its products through direct-to-store delivery, distributors, supermarkets, convenience stores, drug stores, nutritional stores, and mass merchants, as well as health clubs, gyms, the military, and e-commerce websites. The company was formerly known as Vector Ventures, Inc. and changed its name to Celsius Holdings, Inc. in January 2007. Celsius Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.