Financial Analysis: Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) vs. Post (NYSE:POST)

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) and Post (NYSE:POST) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

66.4% of Marzetti shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of Post shares are held by institutional investors. 29.1% of Marzetti shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.1% of Post shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Marzetti and Post”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marzetti	$1.91 billion	1.54	$167.35 million	$6.39	16.80
Post	$8.16 billion	0.50	$335.70 million	$5.94	15.26

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

Profitability

This table compares Marzetti and Post’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marzetti	9.06%	18.12%	14.01%
Post	4.01%	13.36%	3.65%

Volatility and Risk

Marzetti has a beta of 0.33, meaning that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Post has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Marzetti and Post, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marzetti	1	2	1	0	2.00
Post	0	4	5	0	2.56

Marzetti presently has a consensus price target of $169.33, suggesting a potential upside of 57.72%. Post has a consensus price target of $124.50, suggesting a potential upside of 37.35%. Given Marzetti’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Marzetti is more favorable than Post.

Summary

Marzetti beats Post on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marzetti

Lancaster Colony Corporation engages in the manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The company offers frozen garlic bread under the New York BRAND Bakery; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Simply Dressed, Cardini's, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; croutons and salad toppings under the New York BRAND Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands; and frozen pasta under the Marzetti Frozen Pasta brand. It also manufactures and sells other products to brand license agreements, including Olive Garden dressings, Buffalo Wild Wings sauces, and Chick-fil-A sauces. The company sells its products through sales personnel, food brokers, and distributors to retailers and restaurants. Lancaster Colony Corporation was incorporated in 1961 and is based in Westerville, Ohio.

About Post

Post Holdings, Inc. operates as a consumer packaged goods holding company in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Post Consumer Brands, Weetabix, Foodservice, and Refrigerated Retail. The Post Consumer Brands segment manufactures, markets, and sells branded and private label ready-to-eat (RTE) cereals under Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles, and Malt-O-Meal brand names; hot cereal; peanut butter under the Peter Pan brand; and branded and private label dog and cat food products under Rachael Ray Nutrish, Nature's Recipe, 9Lives, Kibbles 'n Bits and Gravy Train brand names. The Weetabix segment primarily manufactures, markets, and distributes branded and private label RTE cereal under Weetabix and Alpen brands; hot cereals and other cereal-based food products; breakfast drinks; protein-based shakes under the UFIT brand, and nutritional snacks, such as muesli. The Foodservice segment produces and distributes egg products primarily under Papetti's and Abbotsford Farms brands, as well as potato products in the foodservice and food ingredient channels. The segment also manufactures certain meat products. The Refrigerated Retail segment produces and distributes side dish, potato, sausage products under Bob Evans, Bob Evans Farms, and Simply Potatoes brands; eggs and egg products under Bob Evans Egg Whites and Egg Beaters brands; and cheese, and other dairy and refrigerated products under Crystal Farms brand. It serves grocery stores, mass merchandise customers, supercenters, club stores, natural/specialty stores, dollar stores, discounters, wholesalers, convenience stores, pet supply retailers, drug store customers, foodservice distributors, and national restaurant chains, as well as sells its products in the military, ecommerce, and foodservice channels. The company was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.