MRU vs. L, ATD.B, ATD.A, WN, EMP.A, NWC, DOL, SAP, PRMW, and PBH
Should you be buying Metro stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Metro include Loblaw Companies (L), Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.B), Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.A), George Weston (WN), Empire (EMP.A), North West (NWC), Dollarama (DOL), Saputo (SAP), Primo Water (PRMW), and Premium Brands (PBH). These companies are all part of the "consumer defensive" sector.
Metro vs. Its Competitors
Metro (TSE:MRU) and Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) are both large-cap consumer defensive companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Loblaw Companies has higher revenue and earnings than Metro. Metro is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Loblaw Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
46.8% of Metro shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.7% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Metro shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 53.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Metro pays an annual dividend of C$1.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$2.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Metro pays out 30.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Loblaw Companies pays out 27.8% 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.
In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 10 more articles in the media than Metro. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 3 mentions for Metro. Metro's average media sentiment score of 0.00 beat Loblaw Companies' score of -0.29 indicating that Metro is being referred to more favorably in the media.
Metro presently has a consensus price target of C$104.22, indicating a potential downside of 0.28%. Loblaw Companies has a consensus price target of C$237.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.93%. Given Loblaw Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than Metro.
Metro has a beta of 0.08, meaning that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Metro has a net margin of 4.50% compared to Loblaw Companies' net margin of 3.71%. Loblaw Companies' return on equity of 19.90% beat Metro's return on equity.
Summary
Loblaw Companies beats Metro on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding MRU and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Media Sentiment Over Time
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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This page (TSE:MRU) was last updated on 7/13/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
