Head to Head Survey: J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) versus Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL)

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

81.7% of J. M. Smucker shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.6% of Vital Farms shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of J. M. Smucker shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.3% of Vital Farms shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J. M. Smucker	-14.07%	15.94%	5.37%
Vital Farms	6.10%	14.47%	9.95%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares J. M. Smucker 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
J. M. Smucker	$8.73 billion	1.21	-$1.23 billion	($11.79)	-8.41
Vital Farms	$759.44 million	0.50	$66.28 million	$1.04	8.60

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for J. M. Smucker and Vital Farms, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J. M. Smucker	1	9	10	0	2.45
Vital Farms	1	9	5	0	2.27

J. M. Smucker presently has a consensus target price of $116.56, suggesting a potential upside of 17.53%. Vital Farms has a consensus target price of $27.92, suggesting a potential upside of 212.27%. Given Vital Farms’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vital Farms is more favorable than J. M. Smucker.

Risk & Volatility

J. M. Smucker has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vital Farms has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

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

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.

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.