Turning Point Brands (NYSE: TPB) and Japan Tobacco (OTCMKTS:JAPAY) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Turning Point Brands and Japan Tobacco’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Turning Point Brands | $285.78 million | 1.37 | $20.20 million | $1.04 | 19.66 |
| Japan Tobacco | $19.09 billion | 2.88 | $3.50 billion | $0.98 | 14.02 |
Risk and Volatility
Turning Point Brands has a beta of 0.47, meaning that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Japan Tobacco has a beta of 1.44, meaning that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Turning Point Brands and Japan Tobacco, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Turning Point Brands | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Japan Tobacco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Turning Point Brands currently has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential downside of 7.09%. Given Turning Point Brands’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Turning Point Brands is more favorable than Japan Tobacco.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
19.8% of Turning Point Brands shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Japan Tobacco shares are held by institutional investors. 14.2% of Turning Point Brands shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Turning Point Brands and Japan Tobacco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Turning Point Brands | 7.07% | 55.65% | 8.75% |
| Japan Tobacco | 18.36% | 15.03% | 8.34% |
Dividends
Turning Point Brands pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Japan Tobacco does not pay a dividend. Turning Point Brands pays out 3.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.
Summary
Turning Point Brands beats Japan Tobacco on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Turning Point Brands
Turning Point Brands, Inc. is an independent provider of Other Tobacco Products (OTP) in the United States. The Company operates in three segments smokeless products, smoking products and NewGen products. The smokeless products segment manufactures and markets moist snuff; and contracts for and markets chewing tobacco products. The smoking products segment imports and markets cigarette papers, tubes and related products; processes, packages and markets make-your-own (MYO) cigarette tobaccos; imports and markets finished cigars and MYO cigar tobaccos and cigar wraps, and processes, packages and markets pipe tobaccos. The NewGen products segment markets e-cigarettes, e-liquids, vaporizers and other related products, and distributes a wide assortment of vaping products to non-traditional retail outlets via VaporBeast. The Company’s portfolio of brands includes Zig-Zag, Beech-Nut, Stoker’s, Trophy, and VaporBeast.
About Japan Tobacco
Japan Tobacco Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells tobacco products, primarily cigarettes in Japan and internationally. It also distributes imported tobacco products. The company offers its tobacco products primarily under the Winston, Camel, Mevius, LD, Benson & Hedges (B&H), Glamour, Sobranie, Silk Cut, Natural American Spirit, Seven Stars, Pianissimo, Peace, HOPE, and other brand names. In addition, it engages in the research and development, manufacture, and sale of prescription drugs in the fields of metabolic diseases, viral infection, and autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. The company?s pharmaceutical products include Riona tablets for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia, Remitch capsules for pruritus, and KAYEXALATE dry syrup for hyperkalemia; FUTHAN for injection, a protease inhibitor; ANTEBATE, a topical corticosteroid; CEDARTOLEN sublingual immunotherapy drugs; MITICURE House Dust Mite sublingual tablets; and Truvada, Stribild, Genvoya, and Descovy combination tablets for HIV. Further, it manufactures and sells staple food products, including frozen noodles, frozen rice, packed-cooked rice, and frozen baked bread; bakery products; and seasonings, including yeast extracts and oyster sauce. Japan Tobacco Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
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