Auto Trader Group (AUTO) Competitors

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

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

69.1% of Auto Trader Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 111.1% of Rightmove shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Auto Trader Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Rightmove shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media favor AUTO or RMV?

In the previous week, Auto Trader Group had 7 more articles in the media than Rightmove. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Auto Trader Group and 4 mentions for Rightmove. Auto Trader Group's average media sentiment score of 0.34 beat Rightmove's score of 0.32 indicating that Auto Trader Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Auto Trader Group	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Rightmove	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has higher earnings and valuation, AUTO or RMV?

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
Auto Trader Group	£553.06M	13.17	£248.87M	£28.22	29.22
Rightmove	£368.22M	16.58	£194.03M	£24.93	31.41

Is AUTO or RMV 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
Auto Trader Group	45.00%	47.03%	33.79%
Rightmove	52.69%	293.54%	152.62%

Do analysts prefer AUTO or RMV?

Auto Trader Group currently has a consensus target price of GBX 840.33, suggesting a potential upside of 1.91%. Rightmove has a consensus target price of GBX 716.67, suggesting a potential downside of 8.50%. Given Auto Trader Group's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Auto Trader Group is more favorable than Rightmove.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Auto Trader Group	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50
Rightmove	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Which has more risk & volatility, AUTO or RMV?

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

Is AUTO or RMV a better dividend stock?

Auto Trader Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rightmove pays an annual dividend of GBX 9 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Auto Trader Group pays out 35.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Rightmove pays out 36.1% 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.

Summary

Auto Trader Group and Rightmove tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.