George Weston (WN) Competitors

George Weston (TSE:WN) and Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) are both large-cap consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, community ranking, risk, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings and profitability.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer WN or L?

Loblaw Companies received 304 more outperform votes than George Weston when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.16% of users gave Loblaw Companies an outperform vote while only 64.97% of users gave George Weston an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
George Weston	Outperform Votes 345 64.97%	Underperform Votes 186 35.03%
Loblaw Companies	Outperform Votes 649 66.16%	Underperform Votes 332 33.84%

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in WN or L?

15.2% of George Weston shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.7% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 59.4% of George Weston shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 53.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor WN or L?

In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 6 more articles in the media than George Weston. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 1 mentions for George Weston. George Weston's average media sentiment score of 0.26 beat Loblaw Companies' score of 0.14 indicating that George Weston is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
George Weston	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Loblaw Companies	0 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer WN or L?

George Weston presently has a consensus price target of C$282.42, suggesting a potential upside of 5.05%. Loblaw Companies has a consensus price target of C$236.88, suggesting a potential upside of 5.97%. Given Loblaw Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than George Weston.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
George Weston	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Loblaw Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Which has better earnings and valuation, WN or L?

Loblaw Companies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than George Weston. Loblaw Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than George Weston, 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
George Weston	C$60.42B	0.58	C$648.55M	C$5.00	53.81
Loblaw Companies	C$60.23B	1.12	C$2.23B	C$7.37	30.34

Is WN or L a better dividend stock?

George Weston pays an annual dividend of C$3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$2.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. George Weston pays out 65.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Loblaw Companies pays out 27.8% 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.

Which has more risk & volatility, WN or L?

George Weston has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.17, suggesting that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is WN or L more profitable?

Loblaw Companies has a net margin of 3.71% compared to George Weston's net margin of 1.07%. Loblaw Companies' return on equity of 19.90% beat George Weston's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
George Weston	1.07%	10.33%	5.75%
Loblaw Companies	3.71%	19.90%	5.89%

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats George Weston on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.