Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF) vs. George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF) Head to Head Analysis

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.0% of George Weston shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by institutional investors. 53.6% of George Weston shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 30.2% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for George Weston and Armanino Foods of Distinction, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
George Weston	0	2	4	0	2.67
Armanino Foods of Distinction	0	1	1	1	3.00

Armanino Foods of Distinction has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 44.23%. Given Armanino Foods of Distinction’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Armanino Foods of Distinction is more favorable than George Weston.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares George Weston and Armanino Foods of Distinction”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
George Weston	$46.17 billion	0.60	$817.33 million	$2.08	35.63
Armanino Foods of Distinction	$76.10 million	4.25	$18.80 million	$0.62	16.77

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

Dividends

George Weston pays an annual dividend of $0.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Armanino Foods of Distinction pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. George Weston pays out 41.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Armanino Foods of Distinction pays out 32.3% 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. Armanino Foods of Distinction is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

George Weston has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Armanino Foods of Distinction has a beta of 0.08, indicating that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares George Weston and Armanino Foods of Distinction’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
George Weston	1.74%	13.84%	3.42%
Armanino Foods of Distinction	25.06%	47.01%	35.12%

Summary

Armanino Foods of Distinction beats George Weston on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Armanino Foods of Distinction

Armanino Foods of Distinction, Inc. produces and markets frozen food products in the United States. The company offers gourmet beef, Italian style beef and pork, and smoked turkey meatballs; grated parmesan and 3 cheese blend cheese; and various pesto, such as basil, artichoke, cilantro, dried tomato and garlic, roasted garlic, roasted red bell pepper, and southwest chipotle. It also provides frozen pasta, which includes beef cannelloni, cheese manicotti, cheese stuffed shells, cheese tortellini; pasta sheets, potato gnocchi, and tricolor cheese tortellini, as well as beef, butternut squash, four cheese, cheese and spinach, and wild mushroom ravioli; and various sauces, comprising creamy garlic, alfresco, Bolognese, chimichurri, harissa, and romesco. The company offers its products under the Armanino brand. It markets its products through a network of food brokers and sells to retail and foodservice distributors, club-type stores, and industrial accounts. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Hayward, California.