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 better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility & risk, BAB or BBY?

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

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of BAB or BBY?

65.8% of Babcock International Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.9% of Balfour Beatty shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Babcock International Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Balfour Beatty shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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%

Which has better valuation & earnings, 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	£4.83B	1.20	£165.10M	£0.48	2,410.42
Balfour Beatty	£8.87B	0.34	£219.98M	£0.35	1,756.37

Does the media prefer BAB or BBY?

In the previous week, Babcock International Group had 4 more articles in the media than Balfour Beatty. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Babcock International Group and 3 mentions for Balfour Beatty. Balfour Beatty's average media sentiment score of 0.60 beat Babcock International Group's score of 0.33 indicating that Balfour Beatty is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Babcock International Group	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Balfour Beatty	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is BAB or BBY a better dividend stock?

Babcock International Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Balfour Beatty pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Babcock International Group pays out 11.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Balfour Beatty 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.

Do analysts recommend BAB or BBY?

Babcock International Group presently has a consensus price target of GBX 1,153.33, suggesting a potential downside of 0.32%. Balfour Beatty has a consensus price target of GBX 680, suggesting a potential upside of 9.68%. Given Balfour Beatty's higher possible 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 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.