Quality Investor

The Marzetti Company

Rank #227Value

MZTI · Nasdaq · Consumer Defensive

The Marzetti Company (MZTI) — Rank #227 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.30) · ROE 18.2% · Piotroski F-Score 5 / 9.

As-of 2026-09-15 · CIK 0000057515 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

The Marzetti Company engages in manufacturing and marketing of specialty food products for the retail and foodservice channels in the United States.

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It operates in two segments, Retail and Foodservice. The Retail segment offers frozen garlic bread under the New York Bakery brand; frozen Parkerhouse style yeast and dinner rolls under the Sister Schubert's brand; salad dressings under the Marzetti, Cardini's, Marzetti Simply, and Girard's brands; vegetable and fruit dips under the Marzetti brand; Japanese barbecue sauces and dips under the Bachan's brand; and croutons and toppings under the New York Bakery, Chatham Village, and Marzetti brands. Its Foodservice segment sells custom-formulated sauces, salad dressings, frozen breads, yeast rolls, and frozen pasta under the Marzetti, Sister Schubert's, and Marzetti Frozen Pasta brands, as well as private labels for chain restaurants. The company sells its products through sales personnel, food brokers, and distributors to retailers and restaurants. The company was formerly known as Lancaster Colony Corporation and changed its name to The Marzetti Company in June 2025.

The Marzetti Company was founded in 1896 and is based in Westerville, Ohio.

Industry
Packaged Foods
Sector
Consumer Defensive
State
OH
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
June 30

Price History

MZTI-33.4% · -7.8% CAGRSPY+80.5% · +12.5% CAGR

Company Snapshot

P/E and dividend yield are the primary valuation lenses for mature businesses.

Market Cap

$2.73B

P/E (annual)

14.3

P/S (annual)

1.4

P/B

2.6

P/OCF (annual)

9.6

Shareholder Yield

4.3%

Employees

3,500

Industry

Packaged Foods

Exchange

Nasdaq

Signal Flags

1 green1 red
Operating leverage expandingOperating income growing faster than revenue
Balance sheet deterioratingNet cash collapsed with receivables or inventory outpacing revenue

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.30
Return on equity
18.2%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.52
Current ratio
1.56×
Net cash
-$174.18M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.5%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
1.1%
Piotroski F-Score
5 / 9
Share dilution
-0.3%

Terry Smith quality gate

Passes 1/5 Terry Smith thresholds

1 of 5 threshold not computable from filed data.

What Growth Is Priced In

Implied revenue growth (10Y)

2.1%

incredible deal

The annual FCF growth rate today's price requires over a 10-year horizon (discount rate 10%, terminal growth 2.5%).

Buyback tailwind: -0.3% — per-share value needs a total required return of 1.8% once share-count change is priced in.

vs. own 6-year median revenue growth: 5.7%

within its own history

Cost-of-equity sensitivity (implied growth at different discount rates)

r = 8%

-1.9%

r = 10% (base)

2.1%

r = 12%

5.6%

Net debt / market cap: 6.4%

Base FCF: $206.1M3Y mean FCF: $197.9M

Valuation History

Current multiple vs historical range at each filing date. Band spans 25th-75th percentile.

P / E

Price / diluted EPS

16.8xCheap
16.8xmed 31.7x51.5x

P / S

Price / revenue per share

1.7xCheap
1.7xmed 2.8x3.6x

P / B

Price / book value per share

3.1xCheap
3.1xmed 5.4x6.7x

P / GP

Price / gross profit per share

6.7xCheap
6.7xmed 12.0x13.3x

P / FCF

Price / free cash flow per share

15.6xCheap
15.6xmed 30.5x56.3x

Dividend yield and payout ratio are the primary reads at this stage (trailing P/E — see valuation above).

Profitability

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.30

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

6th of 18 SIC 20 peers

Return on equity

18.2%

Gross margin

24.7%

12th of 18 SIC 20 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

1.1%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2023202420252026
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

1.9%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

5.6%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

19.9%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

14.9%

Anti-fragile safety

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.52

7th of 18 SIC 20 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

1.56×

17th of 18 SIC 20 peers

Quick ratio

0.56×

Net cash

-$174.18M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Cash-flow health

Free cash flow

$206.14M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF / net income

0.08

Cash-backing of earnings.

FCF/NI divergence

Unfavorable divergence (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.5%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Dividend safety

Composite score

3.0 / 5

Good
Payout ratio
56.8%3/5 Good
FCF coverage
1.90×3/5 Good
Dividend growth streak
9 yr4/5 Strong
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.52 · IC N/A2/5 Fair

Piotroski F-Score

F-Score

5 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Lifecycle Phase History

20212026
Capital Return
Value