Critical Review: Bridgford Foods (NASDAQ:BRID) & Sysco (NYSE:SYY)

Bridgford Foods (NASDAQ:BRID) and Sysco (NYSE:SYY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Bridgford Foods and Sysco, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bridgford Foods	1	0	0	0	1.00
Sysco	0	7	9	0	2.56

Sysco has a consensus price target of $88.15, indicating a potential upside of 16.02%. Given Sysco’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sysco is more favorable than Bridgford Foods.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bridgford Foods	-5.60%	-11.02%	-8.77%
Sysco	2.08%	103.57%	8.06%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Bridgford Foods and Sysco”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bridgford Foods	$230.99 million	0.31	-$13.36 million	($1.44)	-5.47
Sysco	$81.37 billion	0.45	$1.83 billion	$3.61	21.05

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

Risk and Volatility

Bridgford Foods has a beta of -0.23, suggesting that its share price is 123% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sysco has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

4.7% of Bridgford Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.4% of Sysco shares are owned by institutional investors. 80.7% of Bridgford Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Sysco shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Sysco beats Bridgford Foods on 13 of the 14 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 Sysco

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of various food and related products to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other segments. The company distributes frozen food, such as meat, seafood, fully prepared entrées, fruits, vegetables, and desserts; canned and dry food products; fresh meat and seafood products; dairy products; beverages; imported specialties; and fresh produce products. It also supplies various non-food items, including paper products comprising disposable napkins, plates, and cups; tableware consisting of glassware and silverware; cookware, such as pots, pans, and utensils; restaurant and kitchen equipment and supplies; and cleaning supplies. The company serves restaurants, hospitals and nursing facilities, schools and colleges, hotels and motels, industrial caterers, and other foodservice venues. Sysco Corporation was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.