Analyzing Nocera (NASDAQ:NCRA) and J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nocera	-24.59%	-81.74%	-69.13%
J. M. Smucker	-13.61%	15.26%	5.34%

Risk & Volatility

Nocera has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J. M. Smucker has a beta of 0.23, meaning that its share price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.3% of Nocera shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.7% of J. M. Smucker shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.2% of Nocera shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of J. M. Smucker shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Nocera and J. M. Smucker, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nocera	1	0	0	0	1.00
J. M. Smucker	1	10	7	0	2.33

J. M. Smucker has a consensus price target of $114.93, indicating a potential upside of 10.96%. Given J. M. Smucker’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe J. M. Smucker is more favorable than Nocera.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nocera	$17.01 million	0.60	-$2.35 million	($0.24)	-2.95
J. M. Smucker	$8.73 billion	1.27	-$1.23 billion	($11.22)	-9.23

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

Summary

J. M. Smucker beats Nocera on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nocera

Nocera, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and produces recirculating aquaculture systems for fish farms in Taiwan. The company also offers consulting, technology transfer, and aquaculture project management services to new and existing aquaculture management business services. In addition, the company sells signature seafood porridge bowl through its flagship bento box store. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

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.