North West is the better retail buy

Article Excerpt

NORTH WEST CO. $29.98 (Toronto symbol NWC; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (604-231-1100; www.northwest.ca; Shares outstanding: 48.7 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; Dividend yield: 4.3%) sells food and everyday products and services through 231 stores. Those locations are mainly in northern communities across Canada and Alaska. The company also operates in remote regions of Hawaii, the South Pacific and the Caribbean. North West signed a 30-year deal in 2002 with Ottawabased Giant Tiger for the exclusive right to open and operate Giant Tiger general merchandise stores in Western Canada. Giant Tiger operates 200 stores elsewhere in Canada. North West gets about 60% of its revenue from this country. The remaining 40% of sales comes from 33 stores in Alaska and 13 Cost-U-Less warehouse outlets. Those discount stores are in remote island communities across the South Pacific and the Caribbean. In the three months ended April 30, 2017, North West’s sales rose 8.6%, to $476.8 million from $439.0 million a year earlier. Excluding one-time items,…