NWC vs. L, ATD.B, ATD.A, WN, MRU, EMP.A, PRMW, PBH, MFI, and LAS.A
Should you be buying North West stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of North West include Loblaw Companies (L), Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.B), Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.A), George Weston (WN), Metro (MRU), Empire (EMP.A), Primo Water (PRMW), Premium Brands (PBH), Maple Leaf Foods (MFI), and Lassonde Industries (LAS.A). These companies are all part of the "consumer defensive" sector.
North West vs. Its Competitors
North West (TSE:NWC) and Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) are both consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.
North West has a net margin of 5.14% compared to Loblaw Companies' net margin of 3.71%. Loblaw Companies' return on equity of 19.90% beat North West's return on equity.
Loblaw Companies has higher revenue and earnings than North West. North West is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Loblaw Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
North West has a beta of 0.069216, suggesting that its share price is 93% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.288064, suggesting that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.
North West pays an annual dividend of C$1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$0.53 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. North West pays out 56.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Loblaw Companies pays out 26.1% 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.
39.6% of North West shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.5% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of North West shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 53.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 4 more articles in the media than North West. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 0 mentions for North West. North West's average media sentiment score of 0.00 beat Loblaw Companies' score of -0.11 indicating that North West is being referred to more favorably in the media.
North West presently has a consensus price target of C$60.25, indicating a potential upside of 30.81%. Loblaw Companies has a consensus price target of C$199.25, indicating a potential upside of 249.38%. Given Loblaw Companies' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than North West.
Summary
Loblaw Companies beats North West on 11 of the 19 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 NWC and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Skip ChartMedia 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:NWC) was last updated on 10/14/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff