Hershey (NYSE:HSY) and Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF) Head-To-Head Comparison

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) and Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Hershey has a beta of 0.11, meaning that its share price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Armanino Foods of Distinction has a beta of 0.08, meaning that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Hershey and Armanino Foods of Distinction, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hershey	0	16	7	0	2.30
Armanino Foods of Distinction	0	1	1	1	3.00

Hershey presently has a consensus price target of $204.78, suggesting a potential upside of 16.11%. Armanino Foods of Distinction has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 30.43%. Given Armanino Foods of Distinction’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Armanino Foods of Distinction is more favorable than Hershey.

Dividends

Hershey pays an annual dividend of $5.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Armanino Foods of Distinction pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Hershey pays out 79.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Armanino Foods of Distinction pays out 31.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hershey has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Hershey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Hershey and Armanino Foods of Distinction’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hershey	12.24%	31.92%	10.71%
Armanino Foods of Distinction	24.57%	46.16%	34.56%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

58.0% of Hershey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Hershey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 30.2% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hershey and Armanino Foods of Distinction”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hershey	$11.69 billion	3.03	$883.26 million	$7.32	24.09
Armanino Foods of Distinction	$76.10 million	4.63	$18.80 million	$0.63	18.25

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

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels. The company provides its products primarily under the Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Almond Joy, Brookside, barkTHINS, Cadbury, Good & Plenty, Heath, Kit Kat, Payday, Rolo, Twizzlers, Whoppers, York, Ice Breakers, Breath Savers, Bubble Yum, Lily’s, SkinnyPop, Pirates Booty, Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, and ONE Bar brands, as well as under the Pelon Pelo Rico, IO-IO, and Sofit brands. It markets and sells its products to wholesale distributors, chain grocery stores, mass merchandisers, chain drug stores, vending companies, wholesale clubs, convenience stores, dollar stores, concessionaires, and department stores. The company exports its products in approximately 80 countries worldwide. The Hershey Company was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

About Armanino Foods of Distinction

Armanino Foods of Distinction, Inc. produces and markets frozen food products in the United States. The company offers gourmet beef, Italian style beef and pork, and smoked turkey meatballs; grated parmesan and 3 cheese blend cheese; and various pesto, such as basil, artichoke, cilantro, dried tomato and garlic, roasted garlic, roasted red bell pepper, and southwest chipotle. It also provides frozen pasta, which includes beef cannelloni, cheese manicotti, cheese stuffed shells, cheese tortellini; pasta sheets, potato gnocchi, and tricolor cheese tortellini, as well as beef, butternut squash, four cheese, cheese and spinach, and wild mushroom ravioli; and various sauces, comprising creamy garlic, alfresco, Bolognese, chimichurri, harissa, and romesco. The company offers its products under the Armanino brand. It markets its products through a network of food brokers and sells to retail and foodservice distributors, club-type stores, and industrial accounts. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Hayward, California.