Financial Analysis: Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) & Bridgford Foods (NASDAQ:BRID)

Bridgford Foods (NASDAQ:BRID) and Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Bridgford Foods has a beta of -0.15, meaning that its stock price is 115% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seneca Foods has a beta of -0.03, meaning that its stock price is 103% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

4.7% of Bridgford Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.5% of Seneca Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. 80.7% of Bridgford Foods shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of Seneca Foods shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bridgford Foods and Seneca Foods”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bridgford Foods	$228.22 million	0.23	-$13.36 million	($1.59)	-3.66
Seneca Foods	$1.77 billion	0.70	$114.67 million	$17.31	10.55

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

Profitability

This table compares Bridgford Foods and Seneca Foods’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bridgford Foods	-6.36%	-12.97%	-10.05%
Seneca Foods	6.75%	14.96%	8.56%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Bridgford Foods and Seneca Foods, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bridgford Foods	1	0	0	0	1.00
Seneca Foods	0	1	1	0	2.50

Summary

Seneca Foods beats Bridgford Foods on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bridgford Foods

Bridgford Foods Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes frozen and snack food products in the United States. It operates in two segments, Frozen Food Products and Snack Food Products. The company offers biscuits, bread dough items, roll dough items, and dry sausage and beef jerky products, as well as ready to eat sandwiches and non-refrigerated snack food products. It provides frozen food products to food service and retail customers through wholesalers, cooperatives, and distributors; and snack food items to supermarkets, mass merchandise, and convenience retail stores through customer-owned distribution centers, as well as a direct store delivery network. The company was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Bridgford Foods Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Bridgford Industries Incorporated.

About Seneca Foods

Seneca Foods Corporation provides packaged fruits and vegetables in the United States and internationally. The company offers canned, frozen, and jarred produce; jarred fruit; and snack chips and other food products under the private label, as well as under various national and regional brands that the company owns or licenses, including Seneca, Libby’s, Aunt Nellie’s, Cherryman, Green Valley, and READ. In addition, it packs canned and frozen vegetables under contract packing agreements. Further, the company engages in the sale of cans, ends, and seeds, as well as trucking and aircraft operations. It provides its products to grocery outlets, including supermarkets, mass merchandisers, limited assortment stores, club stores, and dollar stores; specialty retailers; and food service distributors, restaurant chains, industrial markets, other food packagers, and export customers in approximately 55 countries, as well as federal, state, and local governments for school and other feeding programs. Seneca Foods Corporation was incorporated in 1949 and is headquartered in Fairport, New York.