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.
Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) and George Weston (TSE:WN) are both large-cap consumer defensive companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends and media sentiment.
Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$1.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. George Weston pays an annual dividend of C$2.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Loblaw Companies pays out 27.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. George Weston pays out 26.5% 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 received 301 more outperform votes than George Weston when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.91% of users gave Loblaw Companies an outperform vote while only 65.87% of users gave George Weston an outperform vote.
Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.12, suggesting that its share price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, George Weston has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Loblaw Companies has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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.
21.6% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.1% of George Weston shares are held by institutional investors. 52.7% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 58.6% of George Weston shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
In the previous week, George Weston had 1 more articles in the media than Loblaw Companies. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for George Weston and 8 mentions for Loblaw Companies. George Weston's average media sentiment score of 0.35 beat Loblaw Companies' score of 0.18 indicating that George Weston is being referred to more favorably in the news media.
Loblaw Companies has a net margin of 3.53% compared to George Weston's net margin of 2.56%. George Weston's return on equity of 19.71% beat Loblaw Companies' return on equity.
Loblaw Companies currently has a consensus target price of C$154.04, indicating a potential upside of 1.10%. George Weston has a consensus target price of C$201.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.14%. Given George Weston's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe George Weston is more favorable than Loblaw Companies.
Summary
George Weston beats Loblaw Companies on 10 of the 18 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.
Skip ChartThis 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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