CI Financial (CIX) Competitors

West Fraser Timber (TSE:WFG) and CI Financial (TSE:CIX) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, community ranking, media sentiment, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor WFG or CIX?

CI Financial received 376 more outperform votes than West Fraser Timber when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 63.16% of users gave West Fraser Timber an outperform vote while only 57.96% of users gave CI Financial an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
West Fraser Timber	Outperform Votes 72 63.16%	Underperform Votes 42 36.84%
CI Financial	Outperform Votes 448 57.96%	Underperform Votes 325 42.04%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in WFG or CIX?

46.4% of West Fraser Timber shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.0% of CI Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 33.7% of West Fraser Timber shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.8% of CI Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is WFG or CIX more profitable?

West Fraser Timber has a net margin of -1.53% compared to CI Financial's net margin of -1.94%. West Fraser Timber's return on equity of -1.33% beat CI Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Fraser Timber	-1.53%	-1.33%	2.18%
CI Financial	-1.94%	-7.54%	4.87%

Which has better earnings and valuation, WFG or CIX?

West Fraser Timber has higher revenue and earnings than CI Financial. CI Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than West Fraser Timber, 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
West Fraser Timber	C$4.36B	1.31	-C$66.55M	-C$1.67	-61.19
CI Financial	C$3.57B	1.26	-C$69.09M	-C$0.48	-65.04

Do analysts rate WFG or CIX?

West Fraser Timber currently has a consensus price target of C$170.00, suggesting a potential upside of 66.10%. CI Financial has a consensus price target of C$27.94, suggesting a potential downside of 10.46%. Given West Fraser Timber's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe West Fraser Timber is more favorable than CI Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Fraser Timber	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.50
CI Financial	2 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more risk and volatility, WFG or CIX?

West Fraser Timber has a beta of 2.03, suggesting that its stock price is 103% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CI Financial has a beta of 1.67, suggesting that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor WFG or CIX?

In the previous week, CI Financial had 5 more articles in the media than West Fraser Timber. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for CI Financial and 0 mentions for West Fraser Timber. CI Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.32 beat West Fraser Timber's score of 0.00 indicating that CI Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
West Fraser Timber	Neutral
CI Financial	Neutral

Is WFG or CIX a better dividend stock?

West Fraser Timber pays an annual dividend of C$1.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. CI Financial pays an annual dividend of C$0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. West Fraser Timber pays out -103.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CI Financial pays out -166.8% 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. CI Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

West Fraser Timber beats CI Financial on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.