Secure Trust Bank (STB) Competitors

Secure Trust Bank (LON:STB) and Close Brothers Group (LON:CBG) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and dividends.

Which has more volatility and risk, STB or CBG?

Secure Trust Bank has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Close Brothers Group has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor STB or CBG?

In the previous week, Close Brothers Group had 1 more articles in the media than Secure Trust Bank. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Close Brothers Group and 2 mentions for Secure Trust Bank. Secure Trust Bank's average media sentiment score of 1.53 beat Close Brothers Group's score of 0.28 indicating that Secure Trust Bank is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Secure Trust Bank	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Close Brothers Group	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in STB or CBG?

73.4% of Secure Trust Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.3% of Close Brothers Group shares are held by institutional investors. 14.9% of Secure Trust Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Close Brothers Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate STB or CBG?

Secure Trust Bank currently has a consensus price target of GBX 1,420, suggesting a potential upside of 38.54%. Close Brothers Group has a consensus price target of GBX 505, suggesting a potential upside of 17.01%. Given Secure Trust Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Secure Trust Bank is more favorable than Close Brothers Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Secure Trust Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Close Brothers Group	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is STB or CBG a better dividend stock?

Secure Trust Bank pays an annual dividend of GBX 28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Close Brothers Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 68 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.8%. Secure Trust Bank pays out 20.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Close Brothers Group pays out 102.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Which has better valuation & earnings, STB or CBG?

Close Brothers Group has higher revenue and earnings than Secure Trust Bank. Close Brothers Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Secure Trust Bank, 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
Secure Trust Bank	£361.02M	0.54	£26.00M	£135.17	7.58
Close Brothers Group	£1.30B	0.50	£101.11M	£66.37	6.50

Is STB or CBG more profitable?

Close Brothers Group has a net margin of 7.79% compared to Secure Trust Bank's net margin of 7.20%. Secure Trust Bank's return on equity of 7.43% beat Close Brothers Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Secure Trust Bank	7.20%	7.43%	0.72%
Close Brothers Group	7.79%	5.78%	0.73%

Summary

Secure Trust Bank beats Close Brothers Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.