George Weston (WN) Competitors

George Weston (TSE:WN) and Loblaw Companies (TSE:L) 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 media sentiment, analyst recommendations, dividends, community ranking, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in WN or L?

15.2% of George Weston shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.7% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 59.4% of George Weston shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 53.8% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to WN or L?

In the previous week, George Weston had 3 more articles in the media than Loblaw Companies. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for George Weston and 1 mentions for Loblaw Companies. George Weston's average media sentiment score of 0.61 beat Loblaw Companies' score of 0.20 indicating that George Weston is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
George Weston	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Loblaw Companies	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in WN or L?

Loblaw Companies received 303 more outperform votes than George Weston when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.56% of users gave Loblaw Companies an outperform vote while only 65.00% of users gave George Weston an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
George Weston	Outperform Votes 338 65.00%	Underperform Votes 182 35.00%
Loblaw Companies	Outperform Votes 641 66.56%	Underperform Votes 322 33.44%

Which has more risk and volatility, WN or L?

George Weston has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.17, indicating that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is WN or L a better dividend stock?

George Weston pays an annual dividend of C$3.28 per share. Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$2.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. George Weston pays out 36.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Loblaw Companies pays out 31.1% 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. Loblaw Companies is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts prefer WN or L?

George Weston presently has a consensus price target of C$246.58, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. Loblaw Companies has a consensus price target of C$191.29, suggesting a potential upside of 3.85%. Given Loblaw Companies' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than George Weston.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
George Weston	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Loblaw Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has higher valuation and earnings, WN or L?

Loblaw Companies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than George Weston. George Weston 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
George Weston	C$60.93B	0.00	C$1.21B	C$8.88	N/A
Loblaw Companies	C$60.32B	0.93	C$2.08B	C$6.60	27.91

Is WN or L more profitable?

Loblaw Companies has a net margin of 3.46% compared to George Weston's net margin of 2.06%. Loblaw Companies' return on equity of 19.22% beat George Weston's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
George Weston	2.06%	17.52%	5.75%
Loblaw Companies	3.46%	19.22%	5.89%

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats George Weston on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.