Empire (EMP.A) Competitors

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) and North West (TSE:NWC) are both consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, media sentiment, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and community ranking.

Which has more risk and volatility, EMP.A or NWC?

Empire has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, North West has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer EMP.A or NWC?

Empire received 74 more outperform votes than North West when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 52.04% of users gave North West an outperform vote while only 46.26% of users gave Empire an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Empire	Outperform Votes 278 46.26%	Underperform Votes 323 53.74%
North West	Outperform Votes 204 52.04%	Underperform Votes 188 47.96%

Does the media prefer EMP.A or NWC?

In the previous week, Empire and Empire both had 8 articles in the media. North West's average media sentiment score of 0.29 beat Empire's score of -0.45 indicating that North West is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Empire	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
North West	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of EMP.A or NWC?

42.8% of Empire shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.5% of North West shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Empire shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of North West shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is EMP.A or NWC more profitable?

North West has a net margin of 4.98% compared to Empire's net margin of 2.47%. North West's return on equity of 19.78% beat Empire's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Empire	2.47%	15.04%	4.56%
North West	4.98%	19.78%	8.65%

Is EMP.A or NWC a better dividend stock?

Empire pays an annual dividend of C$0.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. North West pays an annual dividend of C$1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Empire pays out 24.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. North West pays out 62.7% 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.

Do analysts rate EMP.A or NWC?

Empire currently has a consensus price target of C$43.38, suggesting a potential upside of 13.58%. North West has a consensus price target of C$40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.12%. Given Empire's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Empire is more favorable than North West.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Empire	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
North West	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Which has better earnings and valuation, EMP.A or NWC?

Empire has higher revenue and earnings than North West. Empire is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than North West, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Empire	C$30.72B	0.19	C$759.50M	C$2.96	12.90
North West	C$2.43B	0.77	C$121.09M	C$2.49	15.87

Summary

Empire beats North West on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.