Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) versus Loblaw Companies (OTCMKTS:LBLCF) Critical Survey

Ingles Markets (NASDAQ:IMKTA) and Loblaw Companies (OTCMKTS:LBLCF) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Ingles Markets and Loblaw Companies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ingles Markets	3.00%	11.97%	7.17%
Loblaw Companies	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Ingles Markets and Loblaw Companies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ingles Markets	0	0	0	0	N/A
Loblaw Companies	0	0	0	0	N/A

Loblaw Companies has a consensus price target of $91.50, suggesting a potential downside of 19.77%. Given Loblaw Companies’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Loblaw Companies is more favorable than Ingles Markets.

Dividends

Ingles Markets pays an annual dividend of $0.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Loblaw Companies pays an annual dividend of $0.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ingles Markets pays out 7.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Loblaw Companies pays out -438.4% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

62.5% of Ingles Markets shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.9% of Loblaw Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.1% of Ingles Markets shares are owned 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ingles Markets and Loblaw Companies’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ingles Markets	$5.89 billion	0.24	$210.81 million	$9.27	8.00
Loblaw Companies	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.22)	-515.45

Ingles Markets has higher revenue and earnings than Loblaw Companies. Loblaw Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ingles Markets, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Ingles Markets beats Loblaw Companies on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ingles Markets

Ingles Markets, Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, operates a chain of supermarkets in the southeast United States. It offers food products, including grocery, meat and dairy products, produce, frozen foods, and other perishables; and non-food products, which include fuel centers, pharmacies, health and beauty care products, and general merchandise, as well as private label items. The company owns and operates a milk processing and packaging plant that supplies organic milk, fruit juices, and bottled water products to other retailers, food service distributors, and grocery warehouses. In addition, it provides home meal replacement items, delicatessens, bakeries, floral departments, and greeting cards, as well as broad selections of local organic, beverage, and health-related items. The company operates under the Ingles and Sav-Mor brand names. Ingles Markets, Incorporated was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina.

About Loblaw Companies

Loblaw Companies Limited, a food and pharmacy company, provides grocery, pharmacy and healthcare services, health and beauty products, apparels, general merchandise, financial services, and wireless mobile products and services in Canada. It operates in two segments, Retail and Financial Services. The Retail segment operates corporate and franchise-owned retail food, and associate-owned drug stores. This segment also includes in-store pharmacies, health care services, other health and beauty product stores, apparel stores, and other general merchandise stores. The Financial Services segment provides credit card and banking services, the PC Optimum loyalty program, insurance brokerage services, and telecommunication services. The company offers PC Health app. It provides its products and services under various brands. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Brampton, Canada. Loblaw Companies Limited operates as a subsidiary of George Weston Limited.