Contrasting J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) and Mama’s Creations (NASDAQ:MAMA)

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) and Mama’s Creations (NASDAQ:MAMA) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares J. M. Smucker and Mama’s Creations’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
J. M. Smucker	-1.53%	17.18%	5.76%
Mama’s Creations	3.21%	14.69%	8.91%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

81.7% of J. M. Smucker shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.2% of Mama’s Creations shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of J. M. Smucker shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Mama’s Creations shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares J. M. Smucker and Mama’s Creations”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
J. M. Smucker	$9.05 billion	1.36	-$138.70 million	($1.30)	-89.01
Mama’s Creations	$171.71 million	4.17	$5.29 million	$0.14	124.86

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

Risk and Volatility

J. M. Smucker has a beta of 0.26, suggesting that its share price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mama’s Creations has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for J. M. Smucker and Mama’s Creations, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
J. M. Smucker	1	9	9	0	2.42
Mama’s Creations	0	1	4	2	3.14

J. M. Smucker presently has a consensus price target of $121.67, suggesting a potential upside of 5.15%. Mama’s Creations has a consensus price target of $19.83, suggesting a potential upside of 13.46%. Given Mama’s Creations’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Mama’s Creations is more favorable than J. M. Smucker.

Summary

Mama’s Creations beats J. M. Smucker on 10 of the 15 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 Mama’s Creations

Mama’s Creations, Inc. engages in the marketing, manufacturing, and distribution of beef meatballs with sauce, turkey meatballs with sauce, beef meat loaf, sausage and peppers, chicken parmesan, and other similar meats and sauces. Its products include beef meatballs, turkey meatballs, stuffed meatballs, lasagna roll ups, retail ready meals, bulk deli, single-size pasta bowls, and packaged refrigerated products. Its brands include MamaMancini’s, Creative Salads, and The Olive Branch. The company was founded by Daniel Dougherty on July 22, 2009 and is headquartered in East Rutherford, NJ.