Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) Competitors

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (LON:ASL) and Alliance Trust (LON:ATST) are both financial services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, media sentiment and risk.

Does the media favor ASL or ATST?

In the previous week, Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust had 1 more articles in the media than Alliance Trust. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust and 0 mentions for Alliance Trust. Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.55 beat Alliance Trust's score of 0.00 indicating that Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust	Very Positive
Alliance Trust	Neutral

Is ASL or ATST more profitable?

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust has a net margin of 112.81% compared to Alliance Trust's net margin of 92.17%. Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust's return on equity of 18.22% beat Alliance Trust's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust	112.81%	18.22%	11.67%
Alliance Trust	92.17%	17.93%	10.95%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ASL or ATST?

Alliance Trust received 27 more outperform votes than Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 73.33% of users gave Alliance Trust an outperform vote while only 72.81% of users gave Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust	Outperform Votes 83 72.81%	Underperform Votes 31 27.19%
Alliance Trust	Outperform Votes 110 73.33%	Underperform Votes 40 26.67%

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, ASL or ATST?

Alliance Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust. Alliance Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust, 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
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust	£226.05M	5.12	£255.01M	£304.31	4.55
Alliance Trust	£652.76M	0.00	£601.66M	£2.12	N/A

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in ASL or ATST?

52.3% of Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.9% of Alliance Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 10.4% of Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Alliance Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, ASL or ATST?

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alliance Trust has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ASL or ATST a better dividend stock?

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust pays an annual dividend of GBX 42 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Alliance Trust pays an annual dividend of GBX 26 per share. Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust pays out 13.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alliance Trust pays out 1,226.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust beats Alliance Trust on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.