Contrasting J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) and Campbell’s (NASDAQ:CPB)

Campbell’s (NASDAQ:CPB) and J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Campbell’s and J. M. Smucker”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Campbell’s	$10.25 billion	0.90	$602.00 million	$2.00	15.54
J. M. Smucker	$8.73 billion	1.28	-$1.23 billion	($13.71)	-7.65

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Campbell’s and J. M. Smucker, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Campbell’s	5	15	3	0	1.91
J. M. Smucker	1	7	8	1	2.53

Campbell’s currently has a consensus target price of $34.82, suggesting a potential upside of 12.08%. J. M. Smucker has a consensus target price of $118.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.56%. Given J. M. Smucker’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe J. M. Smucker is more favorable than Campbell’s.

Volatility & Risk

Campbell’s has a beta of 0.02, suggesting that its stock price is 98% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J. M. Smucker has a beta of 0.25, suggesting that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Campbell’s pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. J. M. Smucker pays an annual dividend of $4.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Campbell’s pays out 78.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. J. M. Smucker pays out -32.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. J. M. Smucker has raised its dividend for 27 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Campbell’s and J. M. Smucker’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Campbell’s	5.87%	22.95%	5.77%
J. M. Smucker	-16.75%	15.41%	5.55%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

52.3% of Campbell’s shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.7% of J. M. Smucker shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.8% of Campbell’s shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of J. M. Smucker shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

About Campbell’s

The Campbell’s Company, formerly known as Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada. This segment provides Campbell’s condensed and ready-to-serve soups; Swanson broth and stocks; Pacific Foods broth, soups, and non-dairy beverages; Prego pasta sauces; Pace Mexican sauces; Campbell’s gravies, pasta, beans, and dinner sauces; Swanson canned poultry; V8 juices and beverages; Campbell’s tomato juice; and snacking products in foodservice in Canada. The Snacks segment retails Pepperidge Farm cookies, crackers, fresh bakery, and frozen products, which include Goldfish crackers, Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels, Lance sandwich crackers, Cape Cod and Kettle Brand potato chips, Late July snacks, Snack Factory pretzel crisps, Pop Secret popcorn, and other snacking products. This segment is also involved in the retail business in Latin America. It sells its products through retail food chains, mass discounters and merchandisers, club stores, convenience stores, drug stores, and dollar stores, as well as e-commerce and other retail, commercial, and non-commercial establishments, and independent contractor distributors. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Camden, 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.