Head to Head Survey: Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF) vs. Hershey (NYSE:HSY)

Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF) and Hershey (NYSE:HSY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Armanino Foods of Distinction and Hershey, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Armanino Foods of Distinction	0	1	1	1	3.00
Hershey	0	16	7	0	2.30

Armanino Foods of Distinction currently has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.31%. Hershey has a consensus price target of $204.78, suggesting a potential upside of 18.19%. Given Armanino Foods of Distinction’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Armanino Foods of Distinction is more favorable than Hershey.

Dividends

Armanino Foods of Distinction pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Hershey pays an annual dividend of $5.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Armanino Foods of Distinction pays out 31.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hershey pays out 79.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Hershey has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Hershey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.0% of Hershey shares are held by institutional investors. 30.2% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Hershey 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Armanino Foods of Distinction and Hershey”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Armanino Foods of Distinction	$76.10 million	4.67	$18.80 million	$0.63	18.41
Hershey	$12.16 billion	2.86	$883.26 million	$7.32	23.67

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

Risk and Volatility

Armanino Foods of Distinction has a beta of 0.11, suggesting that its stock price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hershey has a beta of 0.11, suggesting that its stock price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Armanino Foods of Distinction and Hershey’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Armanino Foods of Distinction	24.57%	46.16%	34.56%
Hershey	12.24%	31.92%	10.71%

Summary

Armanino Foods of Distinction beats Hershey on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Armanino Foods of Distinction

Armanino Foods of Distinction, Inc. produces and markets frozen food products in the United States. The company offers gourmet beef, Italian style beef and pork, and smoked turkey meatballs; grated parmesan and 3 cheese blend cheese; and various pesto, such as basil, artichoke, cilantro, dried tomato and garlic, roasted garlic, roasted red bell pepper, and southwest chipotle. It also provides frozen pasta, which includes beef cannelloni, cheese manicotti, cheese stuffed shells, cheese tortellini; pasta sheets, potato gnocchi, and tricolor cheese tortellini, as well as beef, butternut squash, four cheese, cheese and spinach, and wild mushroom ravioli; and various sauces, comprising creamy garlic, alfresco, Bolognese, chimichurri, harissa, and romesco. The company offers its products under the Armanino brand. It markets its products through a network of food brokers and sells to retail and foodservice distributors, club-type stores, and industrial accounts. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Hayward, California.

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.