George Weston (WN) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend L or WN?

Loblaw Companies presently has a consensus price target of C$237.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.57%. George Weston has a consensus price target of C$282.42, suggesting a potential upside of 7.13%. Given Loblaw Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than George Weston.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loblaw Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
George Weston	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has more risk and volatility, L or WN?

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

Does the media refer more to L or WN?

In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 11 more articles in the media than George Weston. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 2 mentions for George Weston. George Weston's average media sentiment score of 0.98 beat Loblaw Companies' score of -0.34 indicating that George Weston is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Loblaw Companies	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
George Weston	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, L or WN?

Loblaw Companies has higher earnings, but lower revenue than George Weston. Loblaw Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than George Weston, 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$60.23B	1.11	C$2.23B	C$7.37	29.91
George Weston	C$60.42B	0.57	C$648.55M	C$5.00	52.77

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

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

Is L or WN a better dividend stock?

Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$2.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. George Weston pays an annual dividend of C$3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Loblaw Companies pays out 27.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. George Weston pays out 65.7% 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 WN more profitable?

Loblaw Companies has a net margin of 3.71% compared to George Weston's net margin of 1.07%. Loblaw Companies' return on equity of 19.90% beat George Weston's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loblaw Companies	3.71%	19.90%	5.89%
George Weston	1.07%	10.33%	5.75%

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats George Weston on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.