Contrasting Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) & George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF)

George Weston (OTCMKTS:WNGRF) and Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of George Weston shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.5% of Seneca Foods shares are held by institutional investors. 53.6% of George Weston shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.4% of Seneca Foods shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares George Weston and Seneca Foods’ 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%
Seneca Foods	2.76%	10.07%	4.96%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares George Weston and Seneca Foods”s 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	0.53	$991.80 million	$1.84	33.82
Seneca Foods	$1.61 billion	0.46	$41.22 million	$8.62	12.49

George Weston has higher revenue and earnings than Seneca Foods. Seneca Foods 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 Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for George Weston and Seneca Foods, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
George Weston	0	2	1	1	2.75
Seneca Foods	0	1	0	0	2.00

Volatility & Risk

George Weston has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seneca Foods has a beta of 0.19, meaning that its share price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

George Weston beats Seneca Foods on 10 of the 14 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 Seneca Foods

Seneca Foods Corporation provides packaged fruits and vegetables in the United States and internationally. The company offers canned, frozen, and jarred produce; jarred fruit; and snack chips and other food products under the private label, as well as under various national and regional brands that the company owns or licenses, including Seneca, Libby’s, Aunt Nellie’s, Cherryman, Green Valley, and READ. In addition, it packs canned and frozen vegetables under contract packing agreements. Further, the company engages in the sale of cans, ends, and seeds, as well as trucking and aircraft operations. It provides its products to grocery outlets, including supermarkets, mass merchandisers, limited assortment stores, club stores, and dollar stores; specialty retailers; and food service distributors, restaurant chains, industrial markets, other food packagers, and export customers in approximately 55 countries, as well as federal, state, and local governments for school and other feeding programs. Seneca Foods Corporation was incorporated in 1949 and is headquartered in Fairport, New York.