Critical Contrast: Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) & Danone (OTCMKTS:DANOY)

Danone (OTCMKTS:DANOY) and Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Danone and Seneca Foods”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Danone	$29.63 billion	2.04	$2.19 billion	N/A	N/A
Seneca Foods	$1.58 billion	0.48	$41.22 million	$8.62	12.75

Danone has higher revenue and earnings than Seneca Foods.

Profitability

This table compares Danone and Seneca Foods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Danone	N/A	N/A	N/A
Seneca Foods	3.73%	9.68%	5.03%

Risk & Volatility

Danone has a beta of 0.27, suggesting that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seneca Foods has a beta of 0.1, suggesting that its share price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Danone and Seneca Foods, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Danone	0	4	2	0	2.33
Seneca Foods	0	0	1	0	3.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Danone shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.5% of Seneca Foods shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Danone shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.4% of Seneca Foods shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Seneca Foods beats Danone on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Danone

Danone S.A. operates in the food and beverage industry in Europe, Ukraine, North America, China, North Asia, the Oceania, Latin America, rest of Asia, Africa, Turkey, the Middle East, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The company operates through Essential Dairy & Plant-Based, Specialized Nutrition, and Waters segments. It produces and distributes yogurts, dairy products, coffee creamers and drinks, beverages, plant-based products, ice creams, frozen desserts, and cheese products under the Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette, Danio, Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon, Volvic, Danone, Light & Fit, Oikos, YoPRO, International Delight, SToK, Silk, Follow Your Heart, and So Delicious. The company also provides specialized nutrition, including formulas and complementary feeding for babies and young children; and special medical purposes food for children and adults under the Aptamil, Nutrilon, Gallia, Cow & Gate, Bebelac, and Blédina brands. In addition, it offers tube feeding products under the Nutrison name; and oral nutritional supplements under the Fortimel and NutriDrink names. Further, the company provides mineral waters from natural sources, waters infused with natural fruit extracts, fruit juices, and vitamins under the evian, Volvic, AQUA, Mizone, Bonafont, Salus, Hayat, Sirma, Font Vella, Lanjarón, and Zywiec Zdroj brands. It distributes its products through retail chains and traditional market outlets; convenience stores; hotels, restaurants, and coffee outlets; hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies; and e-commerce channels. The company was formerly known as Groupe Danone and changed its name to Danone S.A. in April 2009. Danone S.A. was incorporated in 1899 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

About Seneca Foods

Seneca Foods Corporation provides packaged fruits and vegetables in the United States and internationally. The company offers canned, frozen, and jarred produce; jarred fruit; and snack chips and other food products under the private label, as well as under various national and regional brands that the company owns or licenses, including Seneca, Libby’s, Aunt Nellie’s, Cherryman, Green Valley, and READ. In addition, it packs canned and frozen vegetables under contract packing agreements. Further, the company engages in the sale of cans, ends, and seeds, as well as trucking and aircraft operations. It provides its products to grocery outlets, including supermarkets, mass merchandisers, limited assortment stores, club stores, and dollar stores; specialty retailers; and food service distributors, restaurant chains, industrial markets, other food packagers, and export customers in approximately 55 countries, as well as federal, state, and local governments for school and other feeding programs. Seneca Foods Corporation was incorporated in 1949 and is headquartered in Fairport, New York.