Wesfarmers (WFAFY) & Its Competitors Financial Analysis

Wesfarmers (OTCMKTS:WFAFY) is one of 347 public companies in the “Financial Services” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Wesfarmers to related businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Wesfarmers shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.6% of shares of all “Financial Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 21.5% of shares of all “Financial Services” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Wesfarmers pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Wesfarmers pays out 37.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Financial Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.9% and pay out -103.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Wesfarmers lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Wesfarmers and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wesfarmers	N/A	N/A	23.86
Wesfarmers Competitors	$6.61 billion	$1.06 billion	11.21

Wesfarmers’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Wesfarmers. Wesfarmers is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Wesfarmers and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wesfarmers	N/A	N/A	N/A
Wesfarmers Competitors	-405.23%	-22.84%	-6.32%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Wesfarmers and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wesfarmers	3	0	0	0	1.00
Wesfarmers Competitors	1908	6797	11491	414	2.51

Wesfarmers presently has a consensus price target of $73.00, suggesting a potential upside of 156.77%. As a group, “Financial Services” companies have a potential upside of 4.12%. Given Wesfarmers’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Wesfarmers is more favorable than its peers.

Summary

Wesfarmers peers beat Wesfarmers on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

About Wesfarmers

Wesfarmers Limited engages in the retail business in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. The company is involved in the retail sale of building materials, home and garden improvement, lifestyle, and outdoor living products; apparel and general merchandise, including toys, leisure, entertainment, home, and consumables; and office products and solutions, such as stationery, technology, furniture, art supplies, and learning and development resources, as well as print and create, and technical support services through its Officeworks stores. It also provides hardware and software repairs, system security solutions, wireless and wired networking services, virus and spyware prevention and removal, and data backup and recovery solutions. In addition, the company manufactures and supplies ammonia, ammonium nitrate, and industrial chemicals; manufactures, imports, and distributes phosphate, nitrogen, and potassium-based fertilizers; supplies polyvinyl chloride resins; produces wood-plastic composite products; and manufactures and distributes sodium cyanide. Further, it produces and distributes liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas; supplies and distributes maintenance, repair, operating products, and industrial safety products and services; manufactures and markets industrial, medical, and specialty gases and equipment; supplies tools, safety gear, personal protective equipment, electricals, work wear, and industrial supplies; and provides risk management and compliance services, as well as footwear; safety products, uniforms, engineering supplies, and packaging services; and engages in other businesses. Additionally, the company provides health, beauty, and wellbeing products and services; clinical cosmetic and skin care treatments; retail support services; distributes pharmaceutical goods; and operates online marketplace and data sharing platform. Wesfarmers Limited was founded in 1914 and is headquartered in Perth, Australia.