Seneca Foods Corp (SENEB) stock analysis
Close on Oct 30, 2026Market cap $1.08BP/E 9.2Yield –
StockData Score
Prices as of Oct 30, 2026How the score works
Solid20 of 30 checks passed
Seneca Foods passes 20 of the 30 checks behind our score; 6 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 6/6
- Growth
- 4/6
- Past performance
- 4/6
- Financial health
- 6/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Margin of safety over 20%
The price is 44.8% below fair value, more than the 20% cushion we look for.
Trading below fair value
The share price of $159.78 is below our fair value estimate of $289.41.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 17.2%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Low debt
Debt is 1.9% of shareholders' equity, under the 40% we consider low.
What to watch
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 16.8% over the last twelve months and averaged 8.8% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 1.9% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew 3.2% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
No dividend
Seneca Foods has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Valuation6/6
P/E below its 5-year median
Seneca Foods's P/E of 9.2 is below its own 5-year median of 12.3.
P/E below the industry
Seneca Foods's P/E of 9.2 is below the Food and Kindred Products median of 20.8.
EV/EBITDA below its 5-year median
Seneca Foods's EV/EBITDA of 5.2 is below its 5-year median of 5.6.
P/B below the industry
Seneca Foods's price-to-book of 1.40 is below the Food and Kindred Products median of 2.02.
Trading below fair value
The share price of $159.78 is below our fair value estimate of $289.41.
Margin of safety over 20%
The price is 44.8% below fair value, more than the 20% cushion we look for.
Growth4/6
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew 3.2% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 143% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings growth accelerating
Net income grew 175% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -1.9% a year.
Growing faster than the industry
Revenue grew 12.5% over the last twelve months; the Food and Kindred Products median is 2.6%.
Company guidance
No outlook found in earnings releases from the last twelve months.
Gross margin improving
Gross margin was 13.4% over the last twelve months, against 9.5% a year earlier.
Past performance4/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 16.8% over the last twelve months and averaged 8.8% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 17.2%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity above the industry
Seneca Foods's return on equity of 16.8% is above the Food and Kindred Products median of -2.4%.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 1.9% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Net margin above its 5-year average
Net margin was 6.7% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 3.6%.
Net margin above the industry
Seneca Foods's net margin of 6.7% is above the Food and Kindred Products median of -5.6%.
Financial health6/6
Low debt
Debt is 1.9% of shareholders' equity, under the 40% we consider low.
Debt falling against equity
Debt to equity fell from 17.1% five years ago to 1.9%.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 1866% of total debt.
Interest well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 9.5 times.
Short-term assets cover short-term debts
Current assets are 3.77 times current liabilities.
Low bankruptcy risk
The Altman Z-score is 4.65; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
Seneca Foods has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Yield against Treasuries
No dividend.
Yield against the market
No dividend.
Dividend stability
No dividend.
Earnings cover
No dividend.
Cash-flow cover
No dividend.
Fair value
How we estimate itOur estimate per share
$289.41
The share price is 45% below this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 17.8× | 12.3× | 20.8× | $309.05 | 40% |
| EV/EBITDA | 10.7× | 5.6× | 13.4× | $318.82 | 35% |
| P/B | 1.6× | 0.9× | 2.0× | $187.43 | 10% |
| Earnings power | 7.5% cost of equity | – | – | $236.40 | 15% |
| Fair value | $289.41 | 100% | |||
Valuation over time
Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.
- P/E at month end
- Own 5-year median 12.3
- Food and Kindred Products median 20.8
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
Medium risk
- Average value traded per day
- $17.07M
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $10.35M
Downside
Low risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 14.4%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 41%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- 1.01
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 0.26
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2011 to 2025
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +5.1% | +3.2% | +2.5% | +2.6% | |
| Gross profit | +53.9% | +30.4% | -0.1% | +4.4% | |
| Operating income | +90.8% | +90.8% | -3.9% | +4.9% | |
| Net income | +178.2% | +131.6% | -1.9% | +7.4% | |
| EPS, diluted | +181.2% | +142.7% | +3.9% | +11.5% | |
| Free cash flow | -39.6% | – | +10.0% | +19.9% |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 3.9% | 25.9% | 16.5% | |
| Return on assets | 1.7% | 13.9% | 9.4% | |
| Current ratio | 4.05 | 3.27 | 5.06 | |
| Debt to equity | 0.79 | 0.17 | – | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 5.46× | 0.18× | – | |
| Interest coverage | 3.6× | 29.6× | 8.2× | |
| Inventory turnover | 1.9× | 3.3× | 2.3× | |
| Capex to revenue | 2.5% | 4.9% | 2.7% | |
| Diluted shares | 0M | 0M | 7M |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2021 to 2025, five years combined
Seneca Foods generated $885.89M from operations and spent $383.01M on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 63% of that went back into the business.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 6.9% | 1.37× | 1.75× | 16.5% |
| FY2024 | 2.6% | 1.23× | 2.11× | 6.8% |
| FY2023 | 4.3% | 1.12× | 2.28× | 11.1% |
| FY2022 | 0.6% | 1.40× | 1.90× | 1.6% |
| FY2021 | 3.3% | 1.50× | 1.60× | 8.0% |
| FY2020 | 8.6% | 1.61× | 1.87× | 25.9% |
| FY2019 | 3.9% | 1.52× | 2.17× | 12.9% |
| FY2018 | 0.5% | 1.28× | 2.27× | 1.4% |
| FY2017 | -0.7% | 1.16× | 2.40× | -2.0% |
| FY2016 | 1.3% | 1.31× | 2.35× | 3.9% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero$114.67M
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$224.51M
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year3.0% → 9.7%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$224.51M vs $114.67M
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell– → –
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose3.52 → 5.06
- No dilutionShare count did not rise7M → 7M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year9.51% → 13.93%
- More efficientAsset turnover rose1.14 → 1.40