Walmart (WMT) Competitors

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT) are both large-cap retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, media sentiment, community ranking, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Does the media refer more to COST or WMT?

In the previous week, Walmart had 44 more articles in the media than Costco Wholesale. MarketBeat recorded 174 mentions for Walmart and 130 mentions for Costco Wholesale. Costco Wholesale's average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat Walmart's score of 0.60 indicating that Costco Wholesale is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Costco Wholesale	79 Very Positive mention(s)	11 Positive mention(s)	18 Neutral mention(s)	6 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Walmart	78 Very Positive mention(s)	18 Positive mention(s)	32 Neutral mention(s)	28 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of COST or WMT?

68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.8% of Walmart shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 45.6% of Walmart shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is COST or WMT a better dividend stock?

Costco Wholesale pays an annual dividend of $4.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Walmart pays an annual dividend of $0.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Costco Wholesale pays out 27.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Walmart pays out 39.0% 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. Costco Wholesale has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years and Walmart has increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years. Walmart is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is COST or WMT more profitable?

Costco Wholesale has a net margin of 2.93% compared to Walmart's net margin of 2.85%. Costco Wholesale's return on equity of 32.31% beat Walmart's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Costco Wholesale	2.93%	32.31%	10.55%
Walmart	2.85%	21.87%	7.84%

Do analysts rate COST or WMT?

Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus price target of $1,024.03, indicating a potential upside of 4.57%. Walmart has a consensus price target of $103.58, indicating a potential upside of 9.14%. Given Walmart's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Walmart is more favorable than Costco Wholesale.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Costco Wholesale	0 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	21 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70
Walmart	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	30 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.97

Which has more risk and volatility, COST or WMT?

Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Walmart has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in COST or WMT?

Costco Wholesale received 285 more outperform votes than Walmart when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 72.01% of users gave Costco Wholesale an outperform vote while only 61.91% of users gave Walmart an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Costco Wholesale	Outperform Votes 1868 72.01%	Underperform Votes 726 27.99%
Walmart	Outperform Votes 1583 61.91%	Underperform Votes 974 38.09%

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, COST or WMT?

Walmart has higher revenue and earnings than Costco Wholesale. Walmart is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costco Wholesale, 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
Costco Wholesale	$264.09B	1.65	$7.37B	$17.13	57.17
Walmart	$680.99B	1.12	$15.51B	$2.41	39.38

Summary

Costco Wholesale beats Walmart on 12 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.