22nd Century Group (NASDAQ:XXII) versus Imperial Tobacco Group (OTCMKTS:IMBBY) Critical Survey

Imperial Tobacco Group (OTCMKTS:IMBBY) and 22nd Century Group (NASDAQ:XXII) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Imperial Tobacco Group and 22nd Century Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Imperial Tobacco Group	0	1	1	0	2.50
22nd Century Group	1	0	0	0	1.00

Profitability

This table compares Imperial Tobacco Group and 22nd Century Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Imperial Tobacco Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
22nd Century Group	-80.22%	-344.13%	-62.82%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Imperial Tobacco Group and 22nd Century Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Imperial Tobacco Group	$41.10 billion	0.82	$3.31 billion	N/A	N/A
22nd Century Group	$8.86 million	0.53	-$15.16 million	($1,734.15)	0.00

Imperial Tobacco Group has higher revenue and earnings than 22nd Century Group.

Risk and Volatility

Imperial Tobacco Group has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 22nd Century Group has a beta of 2.07, meaning that its stock price is 107% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Imperial Tobacco Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.1% of 22nd Century Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Imperial Tobacco Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of 22nd Century Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Imperial Tobacco Group beats 22nd Century Group on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Imperial Tobacco Group

Imperial Brands PLC, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, imports, markets, and sells tobacco and tobacco-related products in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. It offers a range of cigarettes, tobacco accessories, vapour, heated tobacco, and oral nicotine. The company sells its products under various brands, including JPS, Davidoff, Gauloises, West, Winston, Kool, Lambert & Butler, Fortuna, Nobel, News, Backwoods, Champion, Golden Virginia, Rizla, Blu, Pulze, Skruf, and Zone X. In addition, it engages in the distribution of tobacco and NGP products for tobacco and NGP product manufacturers; and various non-tobacco and NGP products and services. Further, the company is involved in the management of a golf course; distribution of pharmaceuticals, POS software, and published materials and other products; printing and publishing activities; and provision of long haul transportation, industrial parcel and express delivery, pharmaceutical products logistics, advertising, payment, and support management services, as well as owns the trademarks; and retails its products. Additionally, it engages in distribution of books; waste management, leaf processing related activities. Furthermore, the company is involved in research and development of e-vapour products. The company was formerly known as Imperial Tobacco Group PLC and changed its name to Imperial Brands PLC in February 2016. Imperial Brands PLC was founded in 1636 and is based in Bristol, the United Kingdom.

About 22nd Century Group

22nd Century Group, Inc., a tobacco products company, engages in the sale and distribution of its own proprietary new reduced nicotine tobacco products. The company offers reduced nicotine content tobacco plants and very low nicotine combustible cigarette products. It also provides contract manufacturing services for conventional combustible tobacco products for third-party brands. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mocksville, North Carolina.