North West (NWC) Competitors

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

Which has better 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	1.03	C$2.23B	C$2.02	26.86
North West	C$2.60B	0.87	C$131.51M	C$2.84	16.79

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of L or NWC?

7.9% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.0% of North West shares are owned by institutional investors. 53.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of North West shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

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%

Do analysts prefer L or NWC?

Loblaw Companies presently has a consensus target price of C$199.25, indicating a potential upside of 267.62%. North West has a consensus target price of C$60.25, indicating a potential upside of 26.34%. Given Loblaw Companies' higher probable upside, analysts clearly 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 a better dividend stock?

Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$0.53 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. North West pays an annual dividend of C$1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. 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 more volatility & risk, L or NWC?

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

Does the media refer more to L or NWC?

In the previous week, North West had 1 more articles in the media than Loblaw Companies. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for North West and 7 mentions for Loblaw Companies. Loblaw Companies' average media sentiment score of 0.20 beat North West's score of -0.22 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)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
North West	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats North West on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.