The Merchants Trust (MRCH) Competitors

RIT Capital Partners (LON:RCP) and The Merchants Trust (LON:MRCH) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Is RCP or MRCH more profitable?

RIT Capital Partners has a net margin of 162.20% compared to The Merchants Trust's net margin of 90.97%. The Merchants Trust's return on equity of 13.03% beat RIT Capital Partners' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RIT Capital Partners	162.20%	4.70%	4.22%
The Merchants Trust	90.97%	13.03%	7.70%

Is RCP or MRCH a better dividend stock?

RIT Capital Partners pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.41 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. The Merchants Trust pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. RIT Capital Partners pays out 0.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Merchants Trust pays out 1.3% 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.

Which has more volatility and risk, RCP or MRCH?

RIT Capital Partners has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Merchants Trust has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, RCP or MRCH?

RIT Capital Partners has higher revenue and earnings than The Merchants Trust. RIT Capital Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Merchants 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
RIT Capital Partners	£304.80M	9.76	£167.81M	£186.60	11.49
The Merchants Trust	£36.71M	22.89	£109.11M	£22.93	24.69

Does the media prefer RCP or MRCH?

In the previous week, RIT Capital Partners and RIT Capital Partners both had 1 articles in the media. The Merchants Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.69 beat RIT Capital Partners' score of 0.15 indicating that The Merchants Trust is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
RIT Capital Partners	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
The Merchants Trust	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do insiders & institutionals believe in RCP or MRCH?

8.4% of RIT Capital Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.9% of The Merchants Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.6% of RIT Capital Partners shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of The Merchants Trust shares are owned 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.

Summary

RIT Capital Partners and The Merchants Trust tied by winning 7 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.