Contrasting Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) and Hershey (NYSE:HSY)

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) and Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Hershey and Vital Farms’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hershey	12.24%	31.92%	10.71%
Vital Farms	0.02%	3.46%	2.25%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Hershey and Vital Farms, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hershey	0	16	6	0	2.27
Vital Farms	1	8	5	0	2.29

Hershey presently has a consensus price target of $203.67, indicating a potential upside of 25.23%. Vital Farms has a consensus price target of $17.18, indicating a potential upside of 84.06%. Given Vital Farms’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Vital Farms is more favorable than Hershey.

Volatility and Risk

Hershey has a beta of 0.1, suggesting that its stock price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vital Farms has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

58.0% of Hershey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.6% of Vital Farms shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Hershey shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of Vital Farms shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hershey and Vital Farms”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hershey	$11.69 billion	2.79	$883.26 million	$7.32	22.22
Vital Farms	$765.67 million	0.52	$66.28 million	($0.04)	-233.38

Hershey has higher revenue and earnings than Vital Farms. Vital Farms is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hershey, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Hershey beats Vital Farms on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels. The company provides its products primarily under the Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Brookside, barkTHINS, Cadbury, Good & Plenty, Heath, Kit Kat, Payday, Rolo, Twizzlers, Whoppers, York, Ice Breakers, Breath Savers, Bubble Yum, Lily’s, SkinnyPop, Pirates Booty, Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, and ONE Bar brands, as well as under the Pelon Pelo Rico, IO-IO, and Sofit brands. It markets and sells its products to wholesale distributors, chain grocery stores, mass merchandisers, chain drug stores, vending companies, wholesale clubs, convenience stores, dollar stores, concessionaires, and department stores. The company exports its products in approximately 80 countries worldwide. The Hershey Company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

About Vital Farms

Vital Farms, Inc., a food company, provides pasture-raised products in the United States. It offers shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.