Metro (MRU) Competitors

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

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer L or MRU?

Loblaw Companies received 199 more outperform votes than Metro when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.60% of users gave Loblaw Companies an outperform vote while only 54.94% of users gave Metro an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Loblaw Companies	Outperform Votes 644 66.60%	Underperform Votes 323 33.40%
Metro	Outperform Votes 445 54.94%	Underperform Votes 365 45.06%

Is L or MRU a better dividend stock?

Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$2.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Metro pays an annual dividend of C$1.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Loblaw Companies pays out 31.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Metro pays out 32.8% 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.

Is L or MRU more profitable?

Metro has a net margin of 4.36% compared to Loblaw Companies' net margin of 3.46%. Loblaw Companies' return on equity of 19.22% beat Metro's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loblaw Companies	3.46%	19.22%	5.89%
Metro	4.36%	13.74%	6.40%

Which has more risk & volatility, L or MRU?

Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Metro has a beta of 0.08, meaning that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer L or MRU?

Loblaw Companies currently has a consensus target price of C$201.88, indicating a potential upside of 11.47%. Metro has a consensus target price of C$89.33, indicating a potential downside of 1.31%. Given Loblaw Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than Metro.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loblaw Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71
Metro	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.13

Does the media favor L or MRU?

In the previous week, Metro had 10 more articles in the media than Loblaw Companies. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Metro and 5 mentions for Loblaw Companies. Metro's average media sentiment score of 0.98 beat Loblaw Companies' score of -0.13 indicating that Metro is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Loblaw Companies	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Metro	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

20.7% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.8% of Metro shares are owned by institutional investors. 53.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Metro shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, L or MRU?

Loblaw Companies has higher revenue and earnings than Metro. Metro 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$60.32B	0.92	C$2.08B	C$6.60	27.44
Metro	C$21.35B	0.94	C$931M	C$4.09	22.13

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats Metro on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.