North West (NWC) Competitors

Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) and North West (TSE:NWC) are both consumer defensive companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, risk, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in L or NWC?

8.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.3% of North West shares are held by institutional investors. 53.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of North West shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer L or NWC?

In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 6 more articles in the media than North West. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 2 mentions for North West. Loblaw Companies' average media sentiment score of 0.15 beat North West's score of 0.01 indicating that Loblaw Companies is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Loblaw Companies	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
North West	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is L or NWC a better dividend stock?

Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$0.53 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. North West pays an annual dividend of C$1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Loblaw Companies pays out 26.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. North West pays out 56.3% 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.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, L or NWC?

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.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Loblaw Companies	C$62.29B	1.06	C$2.23B	C$2.02	27.49
North West	C$2.60B	0.90	C$131.51M	C$2.84	17.24

Which has more risk and volatility, L or NWC?

Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.423253, suggesting that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, North West has a beta of 0.197245, suggesting that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend L or NWC?

Loblaw Companies presently has a consensus price target of C$199.25, indicating a potential upside of 259.20%. North West has a consensus price target of C$60.25, indicating a potential upside of 23.06%. Given Loblaw Companies' higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than North West.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loblaw Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
North West	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.20

Is L or NWC more profitable?

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.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loblaw Companies	3.71%	19.90%	5.89%
North West	5.14%	18.43%	8.69%

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats North West on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.