Contrasting BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) and North West (OTCMKTS:NNWWF)

North West (OTCMKTS:NNWWF) and BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.6% of BJ’s Wholesale Club shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of BJ’s Wholesale Club shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares North West and BJ’s Wholesale Club”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
North West	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
BJ’s Wholesale Club	$21.46 billion	0.53	$578.38 million	$4.57	19.87

BJ’s Wholesale Club has higher revenue and earnings than North West.

Profitability

This table compares North West and BJ’s Wholesale Club’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
North West	N/A	N/A	N/A
BJ’s Wholesale Club	2.64%	27.40%	7.69%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for North West and BJ’s Wholesale Club, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
North West	0	0	1	0	3.00
BJ’s Wholesale Club	1	9	10	0	2.45

North West currently has a consensus price target of $56.00, suggesting a potential upside of 56.29%. BJ’s Wholesale Club has a consensus price target of $106.06, suggesting a potential upside of 16.82%. Given North West’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe North West is more favorable than BJ’s Wholesale Club.

Summary

BJ’s Wholesale Club beats North West on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About North West

The North West Company Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the retail of food and everyday products and services to rural communities and urban neighborhood markets in northern Canada, rural Alaska, the South Pacific, and the Caribbean. The company operates Northern stores, which offers food, financial services, and general merchandise; NorthMart stores that provides fresh food products, apparel, and health products and services; and Quickstop convenience stores that provides ready-to-eat food products, and fuel and related services. It also operates Giant Tiger junior discount stores, which offers family fashion, household products, and food products; Valu Lots discount center and direct-to-customer food distribution outlet; solo market, a store in remote market; Pharmacy and Convenience stores; and NWC Motorsports, a dealership that offers sales, service, parts and accessories for Ski-doo, Honda, Can-am and other premier brands. In addition, the company distributes produce and fresh meats to independent grocery stores; provides contract tele-pharmacist services to rural hospitals and health centers; and engages in the water and air-based transportation businesses. Further, it operates Alaska Commercial Company stores that provides food and general merchandise to remote and rural regions; Pacific Alaska wholesale, a distributor to independent grocery stores, commercial accounts, and individual households; Riteway food markets; and Cost-U-Less mid-size warehouse stores, which offers discount food and general merchandise. The company was founded in 1668 and is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. engages in the operation of membership warehouse clubs. Its product categories include grocery, household and pet, television and electronics, furniture, computer and tablets, patio and outdoor living, lawn and garden, baby and kids, toys, home, health and beauty, appliances, and jewelry. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Marlborough, MA.