Tootsie Roll Industries (NYSE:TR – Get Free Report) and Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.
Risk & Volatility
Tootsie Roll Industries has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Freshpet has a beta of 1.66, indicating that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
14.3% of Tootsie Roll Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 46.8% of Tootsie Roll Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Freshpet shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Tootsie Roll Industries | $734.74 million | 3.95 | $100.05 million | $1.28 | 30.23 |
| Freshpet | $1.10 billion | 3.11 | $139.14 million | $3.80 | 18.34 |
Freshpet has higher revenue and earnings than Tootsie Roll Industries. Freshpet is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tootsie Roll Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Tootsie Roll Industries and Freshpet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Tootsie Roll Industries | 13.14% | 10.16% | 7.64% |
| Freshpet | 17.28% | 5.97% | 4.07% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Tootsie Roll Industries and Freshpet, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Tootsie Roll Industries | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Freshpet | 1 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 2.50 |
Freshpet has a consensus price target of $75.31, suggesting a potential upside of 8.08%. Given Freshpet’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Freshpet is more favorable than Tootsie Roll Industries.
Summary
Freshpet beats Tootsie Roll Industries on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Tootsie Roll Industries
Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. It sells its products under the Tootsie Roll, Tootsie Fruit Rolls, Frooties, Tootsie Pops, Tootsie Mini Pops, Child's Play, Caramel Apple Pops, Charms, Blow-Pop, Charms Mini Pops, Cella's, Dots, Junior Mints, Charleston Chew, Sugar Daddy, Sugar Babies, Andes, Fluffy Stuff, Dubble Bubble, Razzles, Cry Baby, NIK-L-NIP, and Tutsi Pop trademarks. The company sells its products directly to wholesale distributors of candy, and food and groceries; and supermarkets, variety stores, dollar stores, chain grocers, drug chains, discount chains, cooperative grocery associations, mass merchandisers, warehouse and membership club stores, vending machine operators, e-commerce merchants, the United States military, and fund-raising charitable organizations, as well as through food and grocery brokers. Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
About Freshpet
Freshpet, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and markets natural fresh meals and treats for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells dog food, cat food, and dog treats under the Freshpet brand name; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey.
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