Financial Contrast: Freshpet (FRPT) and Its Peers

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) is one of 328 public companies in the “Food Products” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Freshpet to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Freshpet has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Freshpet’s rivals have a beta of -3.84, indicating that their average stock price is 484% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Freshpet and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Freshpet	$1.10 billion	$139.14 million	25.60
Freshpet Competitors	$6.97 billion	$712.67 million	-2,425.75

Freshpet’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Freshpet. Freshpet is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Freshpet and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Freshpet	10.90%	6.39%	4.36%
Freshpet Competitors	-12.90%	-127.90%	-2.06%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

38.8% of shares of all “Food Products” companies are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Freshpet shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.4% of shares of all “Food Products” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Freshpet and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Freshpet	0	7	9	0	2.56
Freshpet Competitors	2456	8309	8387	405	2.34

Freshpet currently has a consensus target price of $80.31, suggesting a potential upside of 24.47%. As a group, “Food Products” companies have a potential upside of 16.83%. Given Freshpet’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Freshpet is more favorable than its rivals.

Summary

Freshpet beats its rivals on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About Freshpet

Freshpet, Inc. makes and markets fresh, refrigerated food and treats for dogs and cats. Founded in 2006, the company focuses on recipes made with fresh ingredients and positioned as an alternative to shelf-stable pet food. Its products are sold under brands including Freshpet, Freshpet Select, Vital and Nature’s Fresh. Freshpet distributes them through refrigerated displays in grocery, mass-market, club and pet specialty stores, as well as through online retailers. The company primarily serves customers in the United States and Canada and also sells its products in select international markets.