North West (NWC) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend EMP.A or NWC?

Empire currently has a consensus target price of C$57.43, suggesting a potential upside of 3.07%. North West has a consensus target price of C$57.50, suggesting a potential upside of 19.62%. Given North West's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe North West is more favorable than Empire.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Empire	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43
North West	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.25

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

Empire has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, North West has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is EMP.A or NWC more profitable?

North West has a net margin of 5.14% compared to Empire's net margin of 2.18%. North West's return on equity of 18.43% beat Empire's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Empire	2.18%	12.94%	4.60%
North West	5.14%	18.43%	8.69%

Does the media favor EMP.A or NWC?

In the previous week, Empire had 9 more articles in the media than North West. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Empire and 1 mentions for North West. Empire's average media sentiment score of 0.38 beat North West's score of 0.31 indicating that Empire is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

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

Empire has higher revenue and earnings than North West. North West is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Empire, 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$30.87B	0.25	C$672M	C$2.74	20.34
North West	C$2.56B	0.90	C$131.51M	C$2.72	17.67

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in EMP.A or NWC?

40.9% of Empire shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.0% of North West shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Empire shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of North West shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is EMP.A or NWC a better dividend stock?

Empire pays an annual dividend of C$0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. North West pays an annual dividend of C$1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Empire pays out 29.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. North West pays out 58.8% 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.

Summary

Empire and North West tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.