Critical Comparison: George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF) vs. Danone (OTCMKTS:DANOY)

Danone (OTCMKTS:DANOY) and George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Danone pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. George Weston pays an annual dividend of $0.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. George Weston pays out 31.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility & Risk

Danone has a beta of 0.27, indicating that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, George Weston has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Danone and George Weston”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Danone	$29.63 billion	1.87	$2.19 billion	N/A	N/A
George Weston	$44.97 billion	0.63	$991.80 million	$2.71	27.48

Danone has higher earnings, but lower revenue than George Weston.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Danone and George Weston, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Danone	1	2	2	0	2.20
George Weston	0	2	4	0	2.67

Profitability

This table compares Danone and George Weston’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Danone	N/A	N/A	N/A
George Weston	2.37%	13.21%	3.33%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Danone shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of George Weston shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Danone 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 company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

George Weston beats Danone on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Danone

Danone S.A. operates in the food and beverage industry in Europe, Ukraine, North America, China, North Asia, the Oceania, Latin America, rest of Asia, Africa, Turkey, the Middle East, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The company operates through Essential Dairy & Plant-Based, Specialized Nutrition, and Waters segments. It produces and distributes yogurts, dairy products, coffee creamers and drinks, beverages, plant-based products, ice creams, frozen desserts, and cheese products under the Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette, Danio, Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon, Volvic, Danone, Light & Fit, Oikos, YoPRO, International Delight, SToK, Silk, Follow Your Heart, and So Delicious. The company also provides specialized nutrition, including formulas and complementary feeding for babies and young children; and special medical purposes food for children and adults under the Aptamil, Nutrilon, Gallia, Cow & Gate, Bebelac, and Blédina brands. In addition, it offers tube feeding products under the Nutrison name; and oral nutritional supplements under the Fortimel and NutriDrink names. Further, the company provides mineral waters from natural sources, waters infused with natural fruit extracts, fruit juices, and vitamins under the evian, Volvic, AQUA, Mizone, Bonafont, Salus, Hayat, Sirma, Font Vella, Lanjarón, and Zywiec Zdroj brands. It distributes its products through retail chains and traditional market outlets; convenience stores; hotels, restaurants, and coffee outlets; hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies; and e-commerce channels. The company was formerly known as Groupe Danone and changed its name to Danone S.A. in April 2009. Danone S.A. was incorporated in 1899 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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.