Financial Analysis: Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) vs. Jewett-Cameron Trading (NASDAQ:JCTC)

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

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 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

26.0% of Jewett-Cameron Trading shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.1% of Lowe’s Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Jewett-Cameron Trading shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Lowe’s Companies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Jewett-Cameron Trading and Lowe’s Companies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	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 $279.71, indicating a potential upside of 19.85%. Given Lowe’s Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lowe’s Companies is more favorable than Jewett-Cameron Trading.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Jewett-Cameron Trading and Lowe’s Companies”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jewett-Cameron Trading	$46.61 million	0.35	$720,000.00	($0.35)	-13.11
Lowe’s Companies	$83.67 billion	1.56	$7.73 billion	$12.21	19.11

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.