Critical Contrast: Weis Markets (WMK) versus Its Rivals

Weis Markets (NYSE:WMK) is one of 149 publicly-traded companies in the “Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Weis Markets to related businesses based on the strength of its dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

45.0% of shares of all “Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail” companies are held by institutional investors. 21.6% of Weis Markets shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.7% of shares of all “Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Weis Markets and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Weis Markets	$4.96 billion	$93.69 million	18.55
Weis Markets Competitors	$34.73 billion	$846.26 million	17.25

Weis Markets’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Weis Markets. Weis Markets is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Weis Markets pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Weis Markets pays out 32.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.8% and pay out 37.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Risk and Volatility

Weis Markets has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Weis Markets’ peers have a beta of 0.44, meaning that their average share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Weis Markets and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Weis Markets	0	0	1	0	3.00
Weis Markets Competitors	2243	8275	10063	459	2.42

As a group, “Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail” companies have a potential upside of 58.62%. Given Weis Markets’ peers higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Weis Markets has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Weis Markets and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Weis Markets	1.99%	7.40%	4.97%
Weis Markets Competitors	-25.86%	4.03%	2.94%

Summary

Weis Markets beats its peers on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Weis Markets Company Profile

Weis Markets, Inc. engages in the retail sale of food through a chain of supermarkets in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. The company’s retail food stores sell groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, pharmacy services, deli products, prepared foods, bakery products, beer and wine, and fuel; and general merchandise items, such as health and beauty care, and household products. It operates stores in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia primarily under the Weis Markets name, as well as Weis, Weis 2 Go, Weis Great Meals Start Here, Weis Gas-n-Go, and Weis Nutri-Facts. Weis Markets, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is based in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.