YouGov (YOU) Competitors

YouGov (LON:YOU) and Spirent Communications (LON:SPT) are both small-cap computer software companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility and risk, YOU or SPT?

YouGov has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Spirent Communications has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is YOU or SPT more profitable?

Spirent Communications has a net margin of 2.97% compared to YouGov's net margin of -0.69%. Spirent Communications' return on equity of 3.54% beat YouGov's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
YouGov	-0.69%	-1.23%	4.89%
Spirent Communications	2.97%	3.54%	2.77%

Do analysts recommend YOU or SPT?

YouGov presently has a consensus target price of GBX 760, suggesting a potential upside of 103.75%. Spirent Communications has a consensus target price of GBX 236, suggesting a potential upside of 21.40%. Given YouGov's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe YouGov is more favorable than Spirent Communications.

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

Does the media refer more to YOU or SPT?

In the previous week, YouGov had 19 more articles in the media than Spirent Communications. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for YouGov and 8 mentions for Spirent Communications. Spirent Communications' average media sentiment score of 0.87 beat YouGov's score of 0.21 indicating that Spirent Communications is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
YouGov	2 Very Positive mention(s)	12 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Spirent Communications	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is YOU or SPT a better dividend stock?

YouGov pays an annual dividend of GBX 9 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Spirent Communications pays an annual dividend of GBX 6 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. YouGov pays out -458.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, YOU or SPT?

Spirent Communications has higher revenue and earnings than YouGov. YouGov 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
YouGov	£335.28M	1.30	-£2.30M	-£1.96	-190.09
Spirent Communications	£561.21M	2.49	£16.67M	£1.85	105.09

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in YOU or SPT?

59.6% of YouGov shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 124.2% of Spirent Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.1% of YouGov shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Spirent Communications shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Spirent Communications beats YouGov on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.