The European Smaller Companies Trust (ESCT) Competitors

The European Smaller Companies Trust (LON:ESCT) and JPMorgan European Discovery Trust (LON:JEDT) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, community ranking, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ESCT or JEDT?

The European Smaller Companies Trust and JPMorgan European Discovery Trust both received 0 outperform votes by MarketBeat users.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
The European Smaller Companies Trust	N/A	N/A
JPMorgan European Discovery Trust	N/A	N/A

Is ESCT or JEDT a better dividend stock?

The European Smaller Companies Trust pays an annual dividend of GBX 5 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. JPMorgan European Discovery Trust pays an annual dividend of GBX 10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. The European Smaller Companies Trust pays out 2,500.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. JPMorgan European Discovery Trust pays out 5,555.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. The European Smaller Companies Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media refer more to ESCT or JEDT?

In the previous week, The European Smaller Companies Trust's average media sentiment score of 0.00 equaled JPMorgan European Discovery Trust'saverage media sentiment score.

Company	Overall Sentiment
The European Smaller Companies Trust	Neutral
JPMorgan European Discovery Trust	Neutral

Which has more risk & volatility, ESCT or JEDT?

The European Smaller Companies Trust has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, JPMorgan European Discovery Trust has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better valuation and earnings, ESCT or JEDT?

The European Smaller Companies Trust has higher revenue and earnings than JPMorgan European Discovery Trust. The European Smaller Companies Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than JPMorgan European Discovery Trust, 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
The European Smaller Companies Trust	£91.68M	7.53	£78.68M	£0.20	862.00
JPMorgan European Discovery Trust	£39.60M	17.63	£28.24M	£0.18	2,588.89

Is ESCT or JEDT more profitable?

The European Smaller Companies Trust has a net margin of 85.82% compared to JPMorgan European Discovery Trust's net margin of 71.30%. The European Smaller Companies Trust's return on equity of 10.80% beat JPMorgan European Discovery Trust's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The European Smaller Companies Trust	85.82%	10.80%	6.54%
JPMorgan European Discovery Trust	71.30%	4.17%	2.78%

Do analysts recommend ESCT or JEDT?

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The European Smaller Companies Trust	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	N/A
JPMorgan European Discovery Trust	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	N/A

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ESCT or JEDT?

41.9% of The European Smaller Companies Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.2% of JPMorgan European Discovery Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 5.8% of The European Smaller Companies Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of JPMorgan European Discovery Trust shares are held by 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.

Summary

The European Smaller Companies Trust beats JPMorgan European Discovery Trust on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.