Comparing J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) & McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) and J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings and dividends.

Dividends

McCormick & Company, Incorporated pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. J & J Snack Foods pays an annual dividend of $3.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated pays out 31.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. J & J Snack Foods pays out 123.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has increased its dividend for 38 consecutive years and J & J Snack Foods has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares McCormick & Company, Incorporated and J & J Snack Foods”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
McCormick & Company, Incorporated	$6.84 billion	1.88	$789.40 million	$6.01	7.97
J & J Snack Foods	$1.58 billion	0.92	$65.60 million	$2.60	29.81

McCormick & Company, Incorporated has higher revenue and earnings than J & J Snack Foods. McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.7% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.0% of J & J Snack Foods shares are held by institutional investors. 10.6% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 20.4% of J & J Snack Foods shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for McCormick & Company, Incorporated and J & J Snack Foods, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
McCormick & Company, Incorporated	0	8	5	0	2.38
J & J Snack Foods	2	0	2	0	2.00

McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has a consensus target price of $59.80, suggesting a potential upside of 24.85%. J & J Snack Foods has a consensus target price of $110.50, suggesting a potential upside of 42.56%. Given J & J Snack Foods’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe J & J Snack Foods is more favorable than McCormick & Company, Incorporated.

Profitability

This table compares McCormick & Company, Incorporated and J & J Snack Foods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
McCormick & Company, Incorporated	21.91%	12.78%	5.76%
J & J Snack Foods	3.23%	8.93%	6.07%

Volatility and Risk

McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, J & J Snack Foods has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

McCormick & Company, Incorporated beats J & J Snack Foods on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co., Inc. engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces. The Flavor Solutions segment includes seasoning blends, spices and herbs, condiments, coating systems, and compound flavors. The company was founded by Willoughby M. McCormick in 1889 and is headquartered in Baltimore, MD.

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.