North West (NWC) Competitors

Empire (TSE:EMP.A) and North West (TSE:NWC) are both mid-cap consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their community ranking, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Does the media refer more to EMP.A or NWC?

In the previous week, Empire had 1 more articles in the media than North West. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Empire and 1 mentions for North West. North West's average media sentiment score of 0.55 beat Empire's score of 0.26 indicating that North West is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Empire	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
North West	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, EMP.A or NWC?

Empire has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, North West has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in EMP.A or NWC?

40.9% of Empire shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.0% of North West shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Empire shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of North West shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer EMP.A or NWC?

Empire currently has a consensus target price of C$48.57, suggesting a potential upside of 14.29%. North West has a consensus target price of C$50.20, suggesting a potential upside of 9.97%. Given Empire's higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Empire is more favorable than North West.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Empire	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43
North West	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in EMP.A or NWC?

Empire received 81 more outperform votes than North West when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 51.36% of users gave North West an outperform vote while only 45.14% of users gave Empire an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Empire	Outperform Votes 288 45.14%	Underperform Votes 350 54.86%
North West	Outperform Votes 207 51.36%	Underperform Votes 196 48.64%

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, EMP.A or NWC?

Empire has higher revenue and earnings than North West. Empire is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than North West, 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
Empire	C$30.87B	0.19	C$672M	C$2.74	15.51
North West	C$2.52B	0.86	C$132.55M	C$2.74	16.66

Is EMP.A or NWC a better dividend stock?

Empire pays an annual dividend of C$0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. North West pays an annual dividend of C$1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Empire pays out 29.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. North West pays out 58.4% 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 EMP.A or NWC more profitable?

North West has a net margin of 5.25% compared to Empire's net margin of 2.18%. North West's return on equity of 19.76% beat Empire's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Empire	2.18%	12.94%	4.60%
North West	5.25%	19.76%	8.69%

Summary

North West beats Empire on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.