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 compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, community ranking, earnings, risk, valuation and profitability.

Does the media refer more to WN or L?

In the previous week, Loblaw Companies had 18 more articles in the media than George Weston. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Loblaw Companies and 1 mentions for George Weston. George Weston's average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat Loblaw Companies' score of 0.24 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	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Loblaw Companies	1 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, WN or L?

Loblaw Companies has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
George Weston	C$60.42B	0.47	C$648.55M	C$5.00	43.54
Loblaw Companies	C$60.23B	0.88	C$2.23B	C$7.37	23.87

Which has more volatility & risk, WN or L?

George Weston has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its stock price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Loblaw Companies has a beta of 0.17, indicating that its stock 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 and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of C$2.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. George Weston pays out 65.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Loblaw Companies pays out 27.8% 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.

Do institutionals and insiders 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 hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts recommend WN or L?

George Weston currently has a consensus target price of C$252.42, suggesting a potential upside of 16.05%. Loblaw Companies has a consensus target price of C$199.38, suggesting a potential upside of 13.35%. Given George Weston's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe George Weston is more favorable than Loblaw Companies.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
George Weston	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83
Loblaw Companies	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71

Is WN or L 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
George Weston	1.07%	10.33%	5.75%
Loblaw Companies	3.71%	19.90%	5.89%

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer WN or L?

Loblaw Companies received 304 more outperform votes than George Weston when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.39% of users gave Loblaw Companies an outperform vote while only 65.13% of users gave George Weston an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
George Weston	Outperform Votes 340 65.13%	Underperform Votes 182 34.87%
Loblaw Companies	Outperform Votes 644 66.39%	Underperform Votes 326 33.61%

Summary

Loblaw Companies beats George Weston on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.