George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF – Get Free Report) and John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS – Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and valuation.
Dividends
George Weston pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. John B. Sanfilippo & Son pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. George Weston pays out 31.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. John B. Sanfilippo & Son pays out 16.0% 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. John B. Sanfilippo & Son has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. John B. Sanfilippo & Son is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares George Weston and John B. Sanfilippo & Son”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| George Weston | $44.97 billion | 0.58 | $991.80 million | $2.71 | 25.25 |
| John B. Sanfilippo & Son | $1.13 billion | 0.72 | $58.93 million | $5.62 | 12.51 |
George Weston has higher revenue and earnings than John B. Sanfilippo & Son. John B. Sanfilippo & Son is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than George Weston, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for George Weston and John B. Sanfilippo & Son, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| George Weston | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2.67 |
| John B. Sanfilippo & Son | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
John B. Sanfilippo & Son has a consensus target price of $109.00, indicating a potential upside of 55.03%. Given John B. Sanfilippo & Son’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe John B. Sanfilippo & Son is more favorable than George Weston.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
0.0% of George Weston shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.6% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son shares are owned by institutional investors. 53.6% of George Weston shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 30.2% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility & Risk
George Weston has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, John B. Sanfilippo & Son has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares George Weston and John B. Sanfilippo & Son’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| George Weston | 1.67% | 12.84% | 3.29% |
| John B. Sanfilippo & Son | 5.84% | 19.17% | 11.43% |
Summary
John B. Sanfilippo & Son 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 John B. Sanfilippo & Son
John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. engages in the processing and distribution of nuts and nut-related products. It offers peanuts, pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds, and other nuts under the brands of Fisher, Orchard Valley Harvest, Squirrel Brand, and Southern Style Nuts. The company was founded by Gaspare Sanfilippo and John B. Sanfilippo in 1922 and is headquartered in Elgin, IL.
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