Auto Trader Group (AUTO) Competitors

Rightmove (LON:RMV) and Auto Trader Group (LON:AUTO) are both mid-cap communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and media sentiment.

Do analysts prefer RMV or AUTO?

Rightmove presently has a consensus target price of GBX 787, suggesting a potential downside of 3.10%. Auto Trader Group has a consensus target price of GBX 840.33, suggesting a potential upside of 1.51%. Given Auto Trader Group's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Auto Trader Group is more favorable than Rightmove.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rightmove	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Auto Trader Group	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50

Is RMV or AUTO a better dividend stock?

Rightmove pays an annual dividend of GBX 9 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Auto Trader Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rightmove pays out 36.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Auto Trader Group pays out 35.4% 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. Auto Trader Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in RMV or AUTO?

111.1% of Rightmove shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.1% of Auto Trader Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Rightmove shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Auto Trader Group shares are held by company 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.

Does the media favor RMV or AUTO?

In the previous week, Rightmove had 16 more articles in the media than Auto Trader Group. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for Rightmove and 1 mentions for Auto Trader Group. Rightmove's average media sentiment score of 0.51 beat Auto Trader Group's score of -0.20 indicating that Rightmove is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Rightmove	3 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Auto Trader Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more volatility and risk, RMV or AUTO?

Rightmove has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Auto Trader Group has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, RMV or AUTO?

Auto Trader Group has higher revenue and earnings than Rightmove. Auto Trader Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rightmove, 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
Rightmove	£368.22M	17.19	£194.03M	£24.93	32.58
Auto Trader Group	£553.06M	13.22	£248.87M	£28.22	29.34

Is RMV or AUTO more profitable?

Rightmove has a net margin of 52.69% compared to Auto Trader Group's net margin of 45.00%. Rightmove's return on equity of 293.54% beat Auto Trader Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rightmove	52.69%	293.54%	152.62%
Auto Trader Group	45.00%	47.03%	33.79%

Summary

Rightmove beats Auto Trader Group on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.