Metro (MRU) Competitors

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) and Metro (TSE:MRU) are both large-cap consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, media sentiment, dividends and community ranking.

Which has more volatility and risk, L or MRU?

Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.17, suggesting that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Metro has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is L or MRU more profitable?

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.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loblaw Companies	3.71%	19.90%	5.89%
Metro	4.50%	13.80%	6.40%

Which has better valuation and earnings, L or MRU?

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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Loblaw Companies	C$60.23B	0.94	C$2.23B	C$7.37	25.44
Metro	C$21.29B	0.97	C$957.36M	C$4.33	21.54

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer L or MRU?

Loblaw Companies received 198 more outperform votes than Metro when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.39% of users gave Loblaw Companies an outperform vote while only 54.86% of users gave Metro an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Loblaw Companies	Outperform Votes 644 66.39%	Underperform Votes 326 33.61%
Metro	Outperform Votes 446 54.86%	Underperform Votes 367 45.14%

Do analysts recommend L or MRU?

Loblaw Companies presently has a consensus target price of C$199.38, indicating a potential upside of 6.37%. Metro has a consensus target price of C$93.56, indicating a potential upside of 0.25%. Given Loblaw Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than Metro.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loblaw Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71
Metro	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Do insiders & institutionals believe in L or MRU?

20.7% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.8% of Metro shares are held by institutional investors. 53.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Metro shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is L or MRU a better dividend stock?

Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$2.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Metro pays an annual dividend of C$1.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Loblaw Companies pays out 27.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Metro pays out 30.9% 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.

Does the media refer more to L or MRU?

In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 5 more articles in the media than Metro. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 2 mentions for Metro. Metro's average media sentiment score of 0.37 beat Loblaw Companies' score of 0.09 indicating that Metro is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Loblaw Companies	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Metro	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats Metro on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.