Verisk Analytics (VRSK) Competitors

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) and Equifax (NYSE:EFX) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, community ranking, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, dividends and profitability.

Is VRSK or EFX more profitable?

Verisk Analytics has a net margin of 32.65% compared to Equifax's net margin of 10.63%. Verisk Analytics' return on equity of 274.13% beat Equifax's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Verisk Analytics	32.65%	274.13%	20.34%
Equifax	10.63%	19.13%	7.51%

Does the media refer more to VRSK or EFX?

In the previous week, Equifax had 4 more articles in the media than Verisk Analytics. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Equifax and 12 mentions for Verisk Analytics. Equifax's average media sentiment score of 1.10 beat Verisk Analytics' score of 0.99 indicating that Equifax is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Verisk Analytics	5 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Equifax	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, VRSK or EFX?

Verisk Analytics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Equifax. Verisk Analytics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equifax, 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
Verisk Analytics	$2.93B	14.87	$614.60M	$6.83	45.61
Equifax	$5.73B	5.88	$604.10M	$4.89	55.55

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in VRSK or EFX?

90.0% of Verisk Analytics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.2% of Equifax shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Verisk Analytics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Equifax shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, VRSK or EFX?

Verisk Analytics has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equifax has a beta of 1.63, indicating that its stock price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate VRSK or EFX?

Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus price target of $302.40, indicating a potential downside of 2.92%. Equifax has a consensus price target of $293.75, indicating a potential upside of 8.14%. Given Equifax's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Equifax is more favorable than Verisk Analytics.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Verisk Analytics	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20
Equifax	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.79

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer VRSK or EFX?

Equifax received 87 more outperform votes than Verisk Analytics when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 64.69% of users gave Verisk Analytics an outperform vote while only 63.89% of users gave Equifax an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Verisk Analytics	Outperform Votes 557 64.69%	Underperform Votes 304 35.31%
Equifax	Outperform Votes 644 63.89%	Underperform Votes 364 36.11%

Is VRSK or EFX a better dividend stock?

Verisk Analytics pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Equifax pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Verisk Analytics pays out 26.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Equifax pays out 40.9% 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. Verisk Analytics has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Equifax has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

Equifax beats Verisk Analytics on 13 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.