Reviewing Weis Markets (NYSE:WMK) & PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT)

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) and Weis Markets (NYSE:WMK) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

80.5% of PriceSmart shares are held by institutional investors. 17.0% of PriceSmart shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 21.6% of Weis Markets shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares PriceSmart and Weis Markets”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PriceSmart	$5.27 billion	0.99	$147.89 million	$5.21	32.37
Weis Markets	$4.96 billion	0.36	$93.69 million	$4.03	18.01

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PriceSmart	2.82%	12.16%	6.67%
Weis Markets	1.99%	7.40%	4.97%

Risk and Volatility

PriceSmart has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Weis Markets has a beta of 0.43, suggesting that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

PriceSmart pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Weis Markets pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. PriceSmart pays out 26.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Weis Markets pays out 33.7% 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. PriceSmart has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for PriceSmart and Weis Markets, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PriceSmart	0	0	2	0	3.00
Weis Markets	0	0	1	0	3.00

PriceSmart presently has a consensus price target of $198.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.40%. Given PriceSmart’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe PriceSmart is more favorable than Weis Markets.

Summary

PriceSmart beats Weis Markets on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PriceSmart

PriceSmart, Inc. owns and operates U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. The company provides basic and private label consumer products under the Member's Selection brand, including groceries, cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids, meat, produce, deli, seafood, and poultry. It offers electronics, large and small appliances, automotive, hardware, sporting goods, seasonal products, clothing, domestics, and home furnishing products. In addition, the company offers food and bakery services, as well as health services, such as optical, audiology, and pharmacy. Further, it operates an e-commerce platform for online ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery services. PriceSmart, Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Weis Markets

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.