Contrasting Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) and Tootsie Roll Industries (NYSE:TR)

Tootsie Roll Industries (NYSE:TR) and Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Tootsie Roll Industries and Freshpet”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

14.3% of Tootsie Roll Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 46.8% of Tootsie Roll Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Freshpet shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

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%

Volatility and Risk

Tootsie Roll Industries has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Freshpet has a beta of 1.66, suggesting that its stock price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets 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 target price of $75.31, suggesting a potential upside of 8.08%. Given Freshpet’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible 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.