Metro (MRU) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility and risk, L or MRU?

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

Does the media prefer L or MRU?

In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 24 more articles in the media than Metro. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 3 mentions for Metro. Loblaw Companies' average media sentiment score of 0.54 beat Metro's score of 0.00 indicating that Loblaw Companies is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Loblaw Companies	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Metro	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer L or MRU?

Loblaw Companies received 196 more outperform votes than Metro when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.56% of users gave Loblaw Companies an outperform vote while only 55.28% of users gave Metro an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Loblaw Companies	Outperform Votes 641 66.56%	Underperform Votes 322 33.44%
Metro	Outperform Votes 445 55.28%	Underperform Votes 360 44.72%

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

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%

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.

Which has stronger earnings & 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	27.50
Metro	C$21.35B	0.90	C$931M	C$4.09	21.14

Do analysts prefer L or MRU?

Loblaw Companies presently has a consensus price target of C$191.29, suggesting a potential upside of 5.40%. Metro has a consensus price target of C$85.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.71%. Given Loblaw Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly 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)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Metro	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats Metro on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.