Comparing George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF) & B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS)

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) and George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares B&G Foods and George Weston”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
B&G Foods	$1.93 billion	0.22	-$251.25 million	($3.16)	-1.65
George Weston	$44.97 billion	0.64	$991.80 million	$2.71	27.95

George Weston has higher revenue and earnings than B&G Foods. B&G Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than George Weston, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

66.2% of B&G Foods shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of George Weston shares are held by institutional investors. 4.0% of B&G Foods shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 53.6% of George Weston 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.

Profitability

This table compares B&G Foods and George Weston’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
B&G Foods	-13.61%	8.50%	1.44%
George Weston	2.37%	13.21%	3.33%

Dividends

B&G Foods pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.6%. George Weston pays an annual dividend of $0.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. B&G Foods pays out -24.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. George Weston pays out 31.4% 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. B&G Foods is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

B&G Foods has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, George Weston has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for B&G Foods and George Weston, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
B&G Foods	2	4	0	0	1.67
George Weston	0	2	4	0	2.67

B&G Foods currently has a consensus target price of $4.38, suggesting a potential downside of 16.11%. Given B&G Foods’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe B&G Foods is more favorable than George Weston.

Summary

George Weston beats B&G Foods on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About B&G Foods

B&G Foods, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the manufacture, sale, and distribution of shelf-stable frozen food, and household products in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. It operates through the following segments: Specialty, Meals, Frozen & Vegetables, and Spices & Flavor Solutions. The Specialty segment includes, among others, the Crisco, Clabber Girl, Bear Creek, Polaner, Underwood, B&G, Grandma’s, New York Style, Don Pepino, Sclafani, B&M, Baker’s Joy, Regina, TrueNorth, Static Guard, SugarTwin and Brer Rabbit brands. The Meals segment focuses on the Ortega, Maple Grove Farms, Cream of Wheat, Las Palmas, Victoria, Mama Mary’s, Spring Tree, McCann’s, Carey’s and Vermont Maid brands. The Frozen & Vegetables segment consists of Green Giant and Le Sueur brands. The Spices & Flavor Solutions segment offers Dash, Spice Islands, Weber, Ac’cent, Tone’s, Trappey’s, Durkee and Wright’s brands. Its products include frozen and canned vegetables, hot cereals, fruit spreads, canned meats and beans, bagel chips, spices, seasonings, hot sauces, and wine vinegar. Its brands include Back to Nature, Bear Creek, Cream of Wheat, Green Giant, Mrs. Dash, and Ortega. The company was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Parsippany, NJ.

About George Weston

George Weston Limited provides food and drug retailing, and financial services in Canada. The company operates through two segments, Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) and Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Choice Properties). The Loblaw segment provides grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, health and beauty products, apparel, general merchandise, and financial services. This segment also offers credit card and other banking services, insurance brokerage services, guaranteed investment certificates, and wireless mobile products and services. The Choice Properties segment owns, operates, manages, and develops retail commercial and residential properties, leased to necessity-based tenants, industrial, and mixed-use and residential assets. It markets its products under the Shoppers Drug Mart, Joe Fresh, President’s Choice Bank, no name, Farmer’s Market, T&T, Life Brand, and PC Optimum brands. The company was founded in 1882 and is based in Toronto, Canada. George Weston Limited operates as a subsidiary of Wittington Investments, Limited.