Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) & Axfood AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:AXFOY) Critical Comparison

Axfood AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:AXFOY) and Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) are both consumer defensive companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Axfood AB (publ) and Grocery Outlet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Axfood AB (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Grocery Outlet	1.30%	5.18%	2.11%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.9% of Grocery Outlet shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Grocery Outlet shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Axfood AB (publ) and Grocery Outlet, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Axfood AB (publ)	0	0	0	0	N/A
Grocery Outlet	2	7	2	1	2.17

Grocery Outlet has a consensus price target of $20.27, indicating a potential upside of 44.81%. Given Grocery Outlet’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Grocery Outlet is more favorable than Axfood AB (publ).

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Axfood AB (publ) and Grocery Outlet”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Axfood AB (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$10.22	2.47
Grocery Outlet	$4.16 billion	0.33	$79.44 million	$0.54	25.74

Grocery Outlet has higher revenue and earnings than Axfood AB (publ). Axfood AB (publ) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Grocery Outlet, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Grocery Outlet beats Axfood AB (publ) on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Axfood AB (publ)

Axfood AB (publ) engages in the food retail and wholesale businesses primarily in Sweden. It operates through four segments: Willys, Hemköp, Dagab, and Snabbgross. The company sells groceries through Willys, HANDLAR'N, Hemköp, and Eurocash store chains. It is also involved in the e-commerce business; and provision of private label products. In addition, it offers home delivery of meal kits under the Middagsfrid name, as well as operates Urban Deli, a combination of restaurant and market hall; Apohem, an online retail pharmacy; Matöppe, a personal grocery store and the retailer-owned mini-mart; Snabbgriss, a restaurant; and Tempo, a mini-mart format of retailer-owned stores. The company serves restaurants, fastfood operators, and cafés; and retailer-owned stores, mini-marts, and other convenience retailers. Axfood AB (publ) was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Axfood AB (publ) operates as a subsidiary of Axretail AB.

About Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. operates as a retailer of consumables and fresh products sold through independently operated stores in the United States. Its stores offer products in various categories, such as dairy and deli, produce, floral, fresh meat, seafood products, grocery, general merchandise, health and beauty care, frozen food, beer and wine, and ethnic products. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.