North West (NWC) Competitors

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

Is NWC or EMP.A a better dividend stock?

North West pays an annual dividend of C$1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Empire pays an annual dividend of C$0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. North West pays out 58.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Empire pays out 29.2% 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 NWC or EMP.A?

In the previous week, Empire had 3 more articles in the media than North West. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Empire and 2 mentions for North West. North West's average media sentiment score of 0.22 beat Empire's score of 0.20 indicating that North West is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

Which has higher valuation & earnings, NWC or EMP.A?

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
North West	C$2.56B	0.95	C$131.51M	C$2.72	18.51
Empire	C$30.87B	0.25	C$672M	C$2.74	19.90

Do analysts recommend NWC or EMP.A?

North West currently has a consensus price target of C$60.75, suggesting a potential upside of 20.68%. Empire has a consensus price target of C$57.57, suggesting a potential upside of 5.58%. Given North West's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe North West is more favorable than Empire.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
North West	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.20
Empire	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of NWC or EMP.A?

35.0% of North West shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.9% of Empire shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of North West shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Empire shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is NWC or EMP.A 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
North West	5.14%	18.43%	8.69%
Empire	2.18%	12.94%	4.60%

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

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

Summary

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