McGrath RentCorp (MGRC) Competitors

McGrath RentCorp (NASDAQ:MGRC) and Unifirst (NYSE:UNF) are both mid-cap diversified support services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, media sentiment and valuation.

Does the media prefer MGRC or UNF?

In the previous week, McGrath RentCorp had 9 more articles in the media than Unifirst. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for McGrath RentCorp and 5 mentions for Unifirst. McGrath RentCorp's average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat Unifirst's score of 1.03 indicating that McGrath RentCorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
McGrath RentCorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Unifirst	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, MGRC or UNF?

McGrath RentCorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Unifirst. McGrath RentCorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Unifirst, 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
McGrath RentCorp	$910.94M	3.13	$231.73M	$9.65	12.02
Unifirst	$2.43B	1.33	$145.47M	$8.14	21.41

Which has more risk & volatility, MGRC or UNF?

McGrath RentCorp has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Unifirst has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MGRC or UNF a better dividend stock?

McGrath RentCorp pays an annual dividend of $1.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Unifirst pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. McGrath RentCorp pays out 20.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Unifirst pays out 17.2% 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. McGrath RentCorp has increased its dividend for 33 consecutive years and Unifirst has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. McGrath RentCorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of MGRC or UNF?

92.1% of McGrath RentCorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.2% of Unifirst shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of McGrath RentCorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Unifirst shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is MGRC or UNF more profitable?

McGrath RentCorp has a net margin of 25.81% compared to Unifirst's net margin of 6.18%. McGrath RentCorp's return on equity of 13.57% beat Unifirst's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
McGrath RentCorp	25.81%	13.57%	6.41%
Unifirst	6.18%	7.35%	5.78%

Do analysts rate MGRC or UNF?

McGrath RentCorp currently has a consensus price target of $145.50, indicating a potential upside of 25.47%. Unifirst has a consensus price target of $179.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.00%. Given McGrath RentCorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe McGrath RentCorp is more favorable than Unifirst.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
McGrath RentCorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Unifirst	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50

Summary

McGrath RentCorp beats Unifirst on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.