Comparing Post (NYSE:POST) & Campbell’s (NASDAQ:CPB)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Campbell’s	5.69%	21.84%	5.62%
Post	4.11%	11.72%	3.46%

Volatility and Risk

Campbell’s has a beta of -0.05, meaning that its stock price is 105% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Post has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Campbell’s and Post, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Campbell’s	5	15	3	0	1.91
Post	1	2	5	0	2.50

Campbell’s presently has a consensus price target of $32.59, indicating a potential upside of 16.26%. Post has a consensus price target of $125.33, indicating a potential upside of 23.71%. Given Post’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Post is more favorable than Campbell’s.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Campbell’s and Post”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Campbell’s	$10.25 billion	0.82	$602.00 million	$1.93	14.52
Post	$8.16 billion	0.64	$335.70 million	$5.48	18.49

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.4% of Campbell’s shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of Post shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.8% of Campbell’s shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.1% of Post shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

About Campbell’s

The Campbell’s Company, formerly known as Campbell Soup Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets food and beverage products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Meals & Beverages and Snacks segments. The Meals & Beverages segment engages in the retail and foodservice businesses in the United States and Canada. This segment provides Campbell’s condensed and ready-to-serve soups; Swanson broth and stocks; Pacific Foods broth, soups, and non-dairy beverages; Prego pasta sauces; Pace Mexican sauces; Campbell’s gravies, pasta, beans, and dinner sauces; Swanson canned poultry; V8 juices and beverages; Campbell’s tomato juice; and snacking products in foodservice in Canada. The Snacks segment retails Pepperidge Farm cookies, crackers, fresh bakery, and frozen products, which include Goldfish crackers, Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels, Lance sandwich crackers, Cape Cod and Kettle Brand potato chips, Late July snacks, Snack Factory pretzel crisps, Pop Secret popcorn, and other snacking products. This segment is also involved in the retail business in Latin America. It sells its products through retail food chains, mass discounters and merchandisers, club stores, convenience stores, drug stores, and dollar stores, as well as e-commerce and other retail, commercial, and non-commercial establishments, and independent contractor distributors. The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey.

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.