J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF – Get Free Report) and Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and institutional ownership.
Profitability
This table compares J & J Snack Foods and Limoneira’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| J & J Snack Foods | 3.23% | 8.93% | 6.07% |
| Limoneira | -30.50% | -13.94% | -7.86% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares J & J Snack Foods and Limoneira”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| J & J Snack Foods | $1.58 billion | 1.00 | $65.60 million | $2.60 | 32.35 |
| Limoneira | $159.72 million | 1.70 | -$15.98 million | ($2.28) | -6.57 |
J & J Snack Foods has higher revenue and earnings than Limoneira. Limoneira is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than J & J Snack Foods, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
J & J Snack Foods has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Limoneira has a beta of 0.32, suggesting that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for J & J Snack Foods and Limoneira, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| J & J Snack Foods | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Limoneira | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.33 |
J & J Snack Foods presently has a consensus target price of $110.50, suggesting a potential upside of 31.38%. Limoneira has a consensus target price of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.08%. Given J & J Snack Foods’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe J & J Snack Foods is more favorable than Limoneira.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
76.0% of J & J Snack Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.3% of Limoneira shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.4% of J & J Snack Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.2% of Limoneira shares are owned by company 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.
Summary
J & J Snack Foods beats Limoneira on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About J & J Snack Foods
J&J Snack Foods Corp. engages in the manufacturing of nutritional snack foods and distribution of frozen beverages to the food service and retail supermarket industries. It operates through the following segments: Food Service, Retail Supermarkets, and Frozen Beverages. The Food Service segment includes soft pretzels, frozen novelties, churros, handheld products, and baked goods. The Retail Supermarkets segment offers soft pretzel products including Superpretzel, frozen juice treats and desserts, including Luigi’s real Italian ice, Minute Maid juice bars and soft frozen lemonade, Whole Fruit frozen fruit bars and sorbet, Philly Swirl cups and sticks, ICEE Squeeze-Up Tubes and dough enrobed handheld products including Patio burritos. The Frozen Beverages segment provides frozen beverages to the food service industry primarily under the names ICEE, SLUSH PUPPIE, and PARROT ICE in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, as well as repair and maintenance services. The company was founded by Gerald B. Shreiber in 1971 and is headquartered in Mount Laurel, NJ.
About Limoneira
Limoneira Company operates as an agribusiness and real estate development company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three divisions: Agribusiness, Rental Operations, and Real Estate Development. It grows, processes, packs, markets, and sells lemons. The company also grows avocado, oranges, and specialty citrus and other crops, including Moro blood oranges, Cara Cara oranges, Valencia oranges, Minneola tangelos, Star Ruby grapefruit, pummelos, and wine grapes. It has approximately 3,500 acres of lemons planted primarily in Ventura, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, and San Bernardino Counties in California; and Jujuy, Argentina, as well in Yuma County, Arizona, and La Serena, Chile; 1,200 acres of avocados planted in Ventura County; 100 acres of oranges planted in Tulare County, California; and 400 acres of specialty citrus and other crops. In addition, the company rents residential housing units and commercial office buildings, as well as leases approximately 400 acres of its land to third-party agricultural tenants. Further, it is involved in the organic recycling operations; and development of land parcels, multi-family housing, and single-family homes. The company markets and sells its lemons directly to food service, wholesale, and retail customers; avocados, oranges, specialty citrus, and other crops to third-party packinghouses; and wine grapes to wine producers. Limoneira Company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Santa Paula, California.
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