Spirent Communications (SPT) Competitors

Spirent Communications (LON:SPT) and Persimmon (LON:PSN) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, community ranking, institutional ownership, media sentiment and risk.

Is SPT or PSN a better dividend stock?

Spirent Communications pays an annual dividend of GBX 6 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Persimmon pays an annual dividend of GBX 60 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Spirent Communications pays out 324.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Persimmon pays out 75.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Persimmon is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts prefer SPT or PSN?

Spirent Communications presently has a consensus target price of GBX 236, suggesting a potential upside of 23.56%. Persimmon has a consensus target price of GBX 1,520, suggesting a potential upside of 9.63%. Given Spirent Communications' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Spirent Communications is more favorable than Persimmon.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spirent Communications	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Persimmon	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in SPT or PSN?

Spirent Communications received 38 more outperform votes than Persimmon when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 59.31% of users gave Spirent Communications an outperform vote while only 55.02% of users gave Persimmon an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Spirent Communications	Outperform Votes 602 59.31%	Underperform Votes 413 40.69%
Persimmon	Outperform Votes 564 55.02%	Underperform Votes 461 44.98%

Which has more volatility & risk, SPT or PSN?

Spirent Communications has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Persimmon has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to SPT or PSN?

In the previous week, Persimmon had 3 more articles in the media than Spirent Communications. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Persimmon and 0 mentions for Spirent Communications. Spirent Communications' average media sentiment score of 1.11 beat Persimmon's score of 0.00 indicating that Spirent Communications is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Spirent Communications	Positive
Persimmon	Neutral

Is SPT or PSN more profitable?

Persimmon has a net margin of 8.84% compared to Spirent Communications' net margin of 2.97%. Persimmon's return on equity of 7.51% beat Spirent Communications' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spirent Communications	2.97%	3.54%	2.77%
Persimmon	8.84%	7.51%	8.28%

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of SPT or PSN?

124.2% of Spirent Communications shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.0% of Persimmon shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Spirent Communications shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Persimmon shares are held 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.

Which has better valuation and earnings, SPT or PSN?

Persimmon has higher revenue and earnings than Spirent Communications. Persimmon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Spirent Communications, 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
Spirent Communications	£561.21M	2.44	£16.67M	£1.85	103.25
Persimmon	£2.92B	1.53	£257.98M	£79.87	17.36

Summary

Spirent Communications and Persimmon tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.