Babcock International Group (BAB) Competitors

Babcock International Group (LON:BAB) and Balfour Beatty (LON:BBY) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, media sentiment, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Is BAB or BBY more profitable?

Babcock International Group has a net margin of 3.77% compared to Balfour Beatty's net margin of 2.85%. Babcock International Group's return on equity of 44.68% beat Balfour Beatty's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Babcock International Group	3.77%	44.68%	4.47%
Balfour Beatty	2.85%	19.46%	1.63%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in BAB or BBY?

77.0% of Babcock International Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.7% of Balfour Beatty shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Babcock International Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Balfour Beatty shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, BAB or BBY?

Balfour Beatty has higher revenue and earnings than Babcock International Group. Balfour Beatty is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Babcock International 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
Babcock International Group	£4.37B	1.25	£165.10M	£33.05	32.86
Balfour Beatty	£7.72B	0.34	£219.98M	£42.83	12.09

Which has more volatility and risk, BAB or BBY?

Babcock International Group has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Balfour Beatty has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BAB or BBY a better dividend stock?

Babcock International Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 5 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Balfour Beatty pays an annual dividend of GBX 12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Babcock International Group pays out 15.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Balfour Beatty pays out 28.0% 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.

Does the media favor BAB or BBY?

In the previous week, Babcock International Group had 6 more articles in the media than Balfour Beatty. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Babcock International Group and 1 mentions for Balfour Beatty. Babcock International Group's average media sentiment score of 0.34 beat Balfour Beatty's score of 0.29 indicating that Babcock International Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Babcock International Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Balfour Beatty	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer BAB or BBY?

Babcock International Group presently has a consensus price target of GBX 970, indicating a potential downside of 10.68%. Balfour Beatty has a consensus price target of GBX 542.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.73%. Given Balfour Beatty's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Balfour Beatty is more favorable than Babcock International Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Babcock International Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Balfour Beatty	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Babcock International Group beats Balfour Beatty on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.