SThree (STEM) Competitors

PageGroup (LON:PAGE) and SThree (LON:STEM) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Does the media refer more to PAGE or STEM?

In the previous week, PageGroup had 2 more articles in the media than SThree. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for PageGroup and 6 mentions for SThree. SThree's average media sentiment score of 1.13 beat PageGroup's score of 0.19 indicating that SThree is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
PageGroup	0 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
SThree	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of PAGE or STEM?

79.9% of PageGroup shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.5% of SThree shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of PageGroup shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.9% of SThree shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer PAGE or STEM?

PageGroup currently has a consensus price target of GBX 352.50, indicating a potential upside of 46.75%. SThree has a consensus price target of GBX 280, indicating a potential upside of 77.22%. Given SThree's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe SThree is more favorable than PageGroup.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PageGroup	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
SThree	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has higher earnings & valuation, PAGE or STEM?

PageGroup has higher revenue and earnings than SThree. SThree is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PageGroup, 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
PageGroup	£1.64B	0.46	£50.57M	£3.70	64.92
SThree	£1.38B	0.15	£48.77M	£21.80	7.25

Is PAGE or STEM more profitable?

SThree has a net margin of 3.33% compared to PageGroup's net margin of 2.71%. SThree's return on equity of 20.90% beat PageGroup's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PageGroup	2.71%	17.47%	7.59%
SThree	3.33%	20.90%	10.67%

Is PAGE or STEM a better dividend stock?

PageGroup pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. SThree pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. PageGroup pays out 4.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SThree pays out 0.7% 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. SThree is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more volatility & risk, PAGE or STEM?

PageGroup has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SThree has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

SThree beats PageGroup on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.