Comparing Jewett-Cameron Trading (NASDAQ:JCTC) & Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW)

Jewett-Cameron Trading (NASDAQ:JCTC) and Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Jewett-Cameron Trading and Lowe’s Companies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jewett-Cameron Trading	0	0	0	0	0.00
Lowe’s Companies	1	10	14	0	2.52

Lowe’s Companies has a consensus price target of $280.83, suggesting a potential upside of 15.65%. Given Lowe’s Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lowe’s Companies is more favorable than Jewett-Cameron Trading.

Risk and Volatility

Jewett-Cameron Trading has a beta of 0.31, meaning that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lowe’s Companies has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.0% of Jewett-Cameron Trading shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.1% of Lowe’s Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Jewett-Cameron Trading shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Lowe’s Companies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Jewett-Cameron Trading and Lowe’s Companies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jewett-Cameron Trading	-2.66%	-5.00%	-4.44%
Lowe’s Companies	8.19%	-47.55%	15.28%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Jewett-Cameron Trading and Lowe’s Companies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jewett-Cameron Trading	$46.61 million	0.33	$720,000.00	($0.35)	-12.60
Lowe’s Companies	$83.67 billion	1.64	$7.73 billion	$12.21	19.89

Lowe’s Companies has higher revenue and earnings than Jewett-Cameron Trading. Jewett-Cameron Trading is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lowe’s Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Lowe’s Companies beats Jewett-Cameron Trading on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Jewett-Cameron Trading

Jewett-Cameron Trading Company Ltd. is a supplier of `Value-added` building materials to major home improvement center chains in the western United States. The Company concentrates on the residential repair and remodeling segment of the building materials industry.

About Lowe’s Companies

Lowe’s Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States. The company offers a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. It also provides home improvement products, such as appliances, seasonal and outdoor living, lawn and garden, lumber, kitchens and bath, tools, paint, millwork, hardware, flooring, rough plumbing, building materials, décor, and electrical. In addition, the company offers installation services through independent contractors in various product categories; and extended protection plans and repair services. It sells its national brand-name merchandise and private brand products to professional customers, homeowners, renters, businesses, and government. The company also sells its products through Lowes.com website; and through mobile applications. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. was founded in 1921 and is based in Mooresville, North Carolina.