Analyzing Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF) & George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF)

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

Volatility & Risk

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

Dividends

Armanino Foods of Distinction pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. George Weston pays an annual dividend of $0.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Armanino Foods of Distinction pays out 32.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. George Weston pays out 41.8% 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. Armanino Foods of Distinction is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

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

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of George Weston shares are owned by institutional investors. 30.2% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 53.6% of George Weston 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Armanino Foods of Distinction 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
Armanino Foods of Distinction	$76.10 million	4.16	$18.80 million	$0.62	16.44
George Weston	$46.17 billion	0.57	$817.33 million	$2.08	33.70

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.

Analyst Recommendations

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

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

Armanino Foods of Distinction presently has a consensus target price of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 47.17%. Given Armanino Foods of Distinction’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Armanino Foods of Distinction is more favorable than George Weston.

Summary

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

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.

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.