Costain Group (COST) Competitors GBX 131.20 +2.20 (+1.71%) As of 08/22/2025 12:19 PM Eastern Add Compare Share Share Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsHeadlinesInsider TradesBuy This Stock COST vs. HSTG, PETS, ELA, BOOT, BIG, BMPI, HAST, BILB, HVT, and BCAPShould you be buying Costain Group stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Costain Group include Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L) (HSTG), Pets at Home Group (PETS), Eland Oil & Gas (ELA), Henry Boot (BOOT), Big Technologies (BIG), BMO Managed Portfolio Trust PLC - Income Shares (BMPI), Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust (HAST), Bilby (BILB), Heavitree Brewery (HVT), and Better Capital PCC Limited 2009 (BCAP.L) (BCAP). These companies are all part of the "retail" industry. Costain Group vs. Its Competitors Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L) Pets at Home Group Eland Oil & Gas Henry Boot Big Technologies BMO Managed Portfolio Trust PLC - Income Shares Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust Bilby Heavitree Brewery Better Capital PCC Limited 2009 (BCAP.L) Costain Group (LON:COST) and Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L) (LON:HSTG) are both small-cap retail companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, profitability and media sentiment. Is COST or HSTG more profitable? Costain Group has a net margin of 2.33% compared to Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L)'s net margin of 0.00%. Costain Group's return on equity of 13.56% beat Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L)'s return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Costain Group2.33% 13.56% 5.63% Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L) N/A N/A N/A Is COST or HSTG a better dividend stock? Costain Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 1 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L) pays an annual dividend of GBX 10 per share. Costain Group pays out 8.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L) pays out 76.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Costain Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio. Does the media prefer COST or HSTG? In the previous week, Costain Group had 30 more articles in the media than Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L). MarketBeat recorded 30 mentions for Costain Group and 0 mentions for Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L). Costain Group's average media sentiment score of 0.70 beat Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L)'s score of 0.00 indicating that Costain Group is being referred to more favorably in the media. Company Overall Sentiment Costain Group Positive Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L) Neutral Which has preferable valuation & earnings, COST or HSTG? Costain Group has higher revenue and earnings than Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L). Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costain Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioCostain Group£1.28B0.27£29.90M£11.2011.71Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L)£763.70M0.00N/A£13.10N/A Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of COST or HSTG? 44.7% of Costain Group shares are held by institutional investors. 6.4% of Costain Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Do analysts rate COST or HSTG? Costain Group presently has a consensus target price of GBX 162.50, indicating a potential upside of 23.86%. Given Costain Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Costain Group is more favorable than Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L).Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Costain Group 0 Sell rating(s) 1 Hold rating(s) 1 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.50Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L) 0 Sell rating(s) 0 Hold rating(s) 0 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 0.00 SummaryCostain Group beats Hastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L) on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks. Get Costain Group News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for COST and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Email Address New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding COST and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of LON and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart COST vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricCostain GroupEngineering & Construction IndustryIndustrials SectorLON ExchangeMarket Cap£351.42M£2.80B£7.65B£3.22BDividend Yield1.17%3.02%4.56%5.04%P/E Ratio11.7135.8826.14164.70Price / Sales0.2772.5999.63310,110.48Price / Cash0.8714.6128.3927.93Price / Book1.562.904.095.91Net Income£29.90M£82.90M£796.69M£5.89B7 Day Performance-20.87%0.36%0.63%49.50%1 Month Performance-16.54%0.91%0.50%56.36%1 Year Performance24.95%51.97%26.73%136.20% Costain Group Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)COSTCostain Group2.6823 of 5 starsGBX 131.20+1.7%GBX 162.50+23.9%+26.8%£351.42M£1.28B11.713,270Trending NewsEarnings ReportAnalyst ForecastInsider TradeHSTGHastings Group Holdings plc (HSTG.L)N/AN/AN/AN/A£1.65B£763.70M19.053,372High Trading VolumePETSPets at Home Group2.8635 of 5 starsGBX 234.60+3.0%GBX 273.33+16.5%-23.6%£1.07B£1.41B14.26210News CoverageELAEland Oil & GasN/AN/AN/AN/A£357.57M£207.73M5.53260BOOTHenry BootN/AGBX 229+0.4%N/A+4.1%£307.71M£286.51M27.248,400BIGBig Technologies1.3076 of 5 starsGBX 89.60+0.7%GBX 80-10.7%-19.6%£254.51M£53.85M20.0636,200News CoverageBMPIBMO Managed Portfolio Trust PLC - Income SharesN/AN/AN/AN/A£111.25MN/A637.50N/AHASTHenderson Alternative Strategies TrustN/AN/AN/AN/A£105.21M-£2.14M-31.63N/ABILBBilbyN/AN/AN/AN/A£23.87M£59.05M32.50343Gap UpHVTHeavitree BreweryN/AGBX 215flatN/AN/A£7.58M£5.42M4.952,840BCAPBetter Capital PCC Limited 2009 (BCAP.L)N/AN/AN/AN/A£7.06M-£8.42M-7.41N/AGap DownHigh Trading Volume Related Companies and Tools Related Companies HSTG Alternatives PETS Alternatives ELA Alternatives BOOT Alternatives BIG Alternatives BMPI Alternatives HAST Alternatives BILB Alternatives HVT Alternatives BCAP Alternatives Top 10 Stock Comparisons Semiconductor Stocks Artificial Intelligence Stocks Growth Stocks Magnificent Seven Stocks Pharmaceutical Stocks Ecommerce Stocks Bitcoin Stocks Meme Stocks Cryptocurrency Stocks Cybersecurity Stocks This page (LON:COST) was last updated on 8/23/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersBONUS GUIDE - Ben Stein Prepares For the Next Financial CrisisWith inflation high, debt soaring, and global tensions rising, a financial storm may be brewing. 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