L vs. WN, MRU, DOL, EMP.A, NWC, SAP, PRMW, PBH, MFI, and JWEL
Should you be buying Loblaw Companies stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Loblaw Companies include George Weston (WN), Metro (MRU), Dollarama (DOL), Empire (EMP.A), North West (NWC), Saputo (SAP), Primo Water (PRMW), Premium Brands (PBH), Maple Leaf Foods (MFI), and Jamieson Wellness (JWEL). These companies are all part of the "consumer defensive" sector.
George Weston (TSE:WN) and Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) are both large-cap consumer defensive companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, community ranking and dividends.
In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 5 more articles in the media than George Weston. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 8 mentions for George Weston. George Weston's average media sentiment score of -0.13 beat Loblaw Companies' score of -0.19 indicating that Loblaw Companies is being referred to more favorably in the news media.
Loblaw Companies has a net margin of 3.53% compared to Loblaw Companies' net margin of 2.56%. Loblaw Companies' return on equity of 19.71% beat George Weston's return on equity.
Loblaw Companies received 302 more outperform votes than George Weston when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.88% of users gave Loblaw Companies an outperform vote while only 65.62% of users gave George Weston an outperform vote.
George Weston has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.12, meaning that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500.
George Weston presently has a consensus target price of C$216.67, suggesting a potential upside of 13.25%. Loblaw Companies has a consensus target price of C$162.43, suggesting a potential upside of 3.14%. Given Loblaw Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe George Weston is more favorable than Loblaw Companies.
15.1% of George Weston shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.0% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 58.2% of George Weston shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 53.3% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
George Weston pays an annual dividend of C$2.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$2.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. George Weston pays out 26.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Loblaw Companies pays out 30.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. George Weston is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Loblaw Companies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than George Weston. George Weston is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Loblaw Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
George Weston and Loblaw Companies tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.
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This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding L and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
This chart shows the average media sentiment of TSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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