Nichols (NICL) Competitors

Fevertree Drinks (LON:FEVR) and Nichols (LON:NICL) are both small-cap consumer defensive companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, dividends, media sentiment, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

Which has more risk & volatility, FEVR or NICL?

Fevertree Drinks has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nichols has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FEVR or NICL more profitable?

Nichols has a net margin of 11.07% compared to Fevertree Drinks' net margin of 6.05%. Nichols' return on equity of 18.96% beat Fevertree Drinks' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fevertree Drinks	6.05%	9.30%	4.91%
Nichols	11.07%	18.96%	12.97%

Is FEVR or NICL a better dividend stock?

Fevertree Drinks pays an annual dividend of GBX 17 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Nichols pays an annual dividend of GBX 31 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Fevertree Drinks pays out 90.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Nichols pays out 60.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nichols is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts recommend FEVR or NICL?

Fevertree Drinks presently has a consensus price target of GBX 1,162.50, indicating a potential upside of 16.83%. Nichols has a consensus price target of GBX 1,760, indicating a potential upside of 23.94%. Given Nichols' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Nichols is more favorable than Fevertree Drinks.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fevertree Drinks	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Nichols	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, FEVR or NICL?

Fevertree Drinks has higher revenue and earnings than Nichols. Nichols is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fevertree Drinks, 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
Fevertree Drinks	£394.92M	3.21	£23.91M	£18.79	52.96
Nichols	£169.02M	3.07	£18.72M	£51.25	27.71

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in FEVR or NICL?

68.0% of Fevertree Drinks shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.3% of Nichols shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.6% of Fevertree Drinks shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 43.3% of Nichols shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor FEVR or NICL?

In the previous week, Nichols had 6 more articles in the media than Fevertree Drinks. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Nichols and 3 mentions for Fevertree Drinks. Fevertree Drinks' average media sentiment score of 0.34 beat Nichols' score of -0.06 indicating that Fevertree Drinks is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fevertree Drinks	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Nichols	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Nichols beats Fevertree Drinks on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.