Ashtead Group (AHT) Competitors

Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) and London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L) (LON:LSE) are both large-cap trading companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings, profitability and media sentiment.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, AHT or LSE?

Ashtead Group has higher revenue and earnings than London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L). London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ashtead Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ashtead Group	£10.84B	1.97	£1.93B	£3.41	1,480.15
London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L)	£2.41B	0.00	N/A	£112.40	N/A

Is AHT or LSE a better dividend stock?

Ashtead Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 1.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L) pays an annual dividend of GBX 73 per share. Ashtead Group pays out 57.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L) pays out 64.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Ashtead Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of AHT or LSE?

71.4% of Ashtead Group shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Ashtead Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer AHT or LSE?

In the previous week, London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L) had 2 more articles in the media than Ashtead Group. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L) and 1 mentions for Ashtead Group. Ashtead Group's average media sentiment score of 1.14 beat London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L)'s score of -0.30 indicating that Ashtead Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ashtead Group	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L)	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is AHT or LSE more profitable?

Ashtead Group has a net margin of 14.08% compared to London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L)'s net margin of 0.00%. Ashtead Group's return on equity of 21.43% beat London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L)'s return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ashtead Group	14.08%	21.43%	7.78%
London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L)	N/A	N/A	N/A

Do analysts prefer AHT or LSE?

Ashtead Group presently has a consensus target price of GBX 5,825, indicating a potential upside of 15.27%. Given Ashtead Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ashtead Group is more favorable than London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L).

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ashtead Group	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L)	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Summary

Ashtead Group beats London Stock Exchange Group plc (LSE.L) on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.