Critical Review: Jammin Java (OTCMKTS:JAMN) vs. Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST)

Jammin Java (OTCMKTS:JAMN) and Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Jammin Java and Monster Beverage”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jammin Java	N/A	N/A	-$230,000.00	N/A	N/A
Monster Beverage	$8.29 billion	8.59	$1.91 billion	$1.94	37.54

Monster Beverage has higher revenue and earnings than Jammin Java.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

72.4% of Monster Beverage shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.2% of Jammin Java shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.8% of Monster Beverage shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Jammin Java and Monster Beverage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jammin Java	N/A	N/A	N/A
Monster Beverage	22.97%	27.38%	22.25%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Jammin Java and Monster Beverage, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jammin Java	0	0	0	0	0.00
Monster Beverage	1	8	14	0	2.57

Monster Beverage has a consensus target price of $83.76, indicating a potential upside of 15.01%. Given Monster Beverage’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Monster Beverage is more favorable than Jammin Java.

Risk and Volatility

Jammin Java has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Monster Beverage has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Monster Beverage beats Jammin Java on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Jammin Java

Jammin Java Corp. produces and sells roasted coffee under the Marley Coffee brand name in the United States and internationally. It distributes roasted coffee to grocery, retail, online, service, hospitality, office coffee service, and big box store industries. The company was formerly known as Marley Coffee Inc. and changed its name to Jammin Java Corp. in July 2009. Jammin Java Corp. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other. It offers carbonated non-carbonated energy drinks, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters, and sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices, and flavored sparkling beverages. The company sells its products to full service beverage bottlers/distributors, retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, food service customers, value stores, e-commerce retailers, and the military; and concentrates and/or beverage bases to authorized bottling and canning operations. It provides its products under the Monster Energy, Monster Energy Ultra, Monster Rehab, Monster Energy Nitro, Java Monster, Punch Monster, Juice Monster, Muscle Monster, Espresso Monster, Monster Tour Water, Fury, Monster MAXX, Caffe Monster, Monster Hydro, Monster HydroSport Super Fuel, Monster Dragon Tea, Reign Total Body Fuel, and Reign Inferno Thermogenic Fuel, Reign Storm, Bang Energy, NOS, Full Throttle, Burn, Mother, Nalu, Ultra Energy, Play and Power Play (stylized), Relentless, BPM, BU, Gladiator, Samurai, Live+, Predator, and Fury brands. The company was formerly known as Hansen Natural Corporation and changed its name to Monster Beverage Corporation in January 2012. Monster Beverage Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Corona, California.