Reviewing Tate & Lyle (OTCMKTS:TATYY) and Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI)

Marzetti (NASDAQ:MZTI) and Tate & Lyle (OTCMKTS:TATYY) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Dividends

Marzetti pays an annual dividend of $3.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Tate & Lyle pays an annual dividend of $0.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Marzetti pays out 61.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Marzetti has increased its dividend for 62 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

Marzetti has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tate & Lyle has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

66.4% of Marzetti shares are held by institutional investors. 29.1% of Marzetti shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Tate & Lyle shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Marzetti and Tate & Lyle’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marzetti	8.77%	18.87%	14.77%
Tate & Lyle	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Marzetti and Tate & Lyle, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marzetti	0	3	1	0	2.25
Tate & Lyle	1	3	0	1	2.20

Marzetti currently has a consensus target price of $191.33, indicating a potential upside of 11.72%. Given Marzetti’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Marzetti is more favorable than Tate & Lyle.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Marzetti and Tate & Lyle”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marzetti	$1.94 billion	2.43	$167.35 million	$6.16	27.80
Tate & Lyle	$2.21 billion	1.01	$182.45 million	N/A	N/A

Tate & Lyle has higher revenue and earnings than Marzetti.

Summary

Marzetti beats Tate & Lyle on 11 of the 16 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 Tate & Lyle

Tate & Lyle PLC, together with its subsidiaries, provides ingredients and solutions to the food, beverage, and other industries in the United States, the United Kingdom, other European countries, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Food & Beverage Solutions, Sucralose, and Primary Products. The company offers dairy products, soups, sauces, and dressings; bakery products and snacks; texturants; nutritive sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup and dextrose; fibres; and stabilizers and functional systems. It also provides industrial starches; acidulants, such as citric acid; and commodities comprising corn gluten feed, meal, and corn oil. The company was incorporated in 1903 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.