Verisk Analytics (VRSK) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility and risk, EFX or VRSK?

Equifax has a beta of 1.6, suggesting that its share price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Verisk Analytics has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is EFX or VRSK a better dividend stock?

Equifax pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Verisk Analytics pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Equifax pays out 40.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Verisk Analytics pays out 26.4% 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. Equifax has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Verisk Analytics has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Is EFX or VRSK more profitable?

Verisk Analytics has a net margin of 33.13% compared to Equifax's net margin of 10.68%. Verisk Analytics' return on equity of 396.08% beat Equifax's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equifax	10.68%	18.81%	7.60%
Verisk Analytics	33.13%	396.08%	20.50%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in EFX or VRSK?

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

Does the media prefer EFX or VRSK?

In the previous week, Verisk Analytics had 11 more articles in the media than Equifax. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for Verisk Analytics and 12 mentions for Equifax. Verisk Analytics' average media sentiment score of 1.26 beat Equifax's score of 1.23 indicating that Verisk Analytics is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Equifax	7 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Verisk Analytics	17 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, EFX or VRSK?

Verisk Analytics has lower revenue, but higher earnings 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
Equifax	$5.68B	5.74	$604.10M	$4.89	53.68
Verisk Analytics	$2.88B	14.62	$958.20M	$6.83	44.10

Do analysts recommend EFX or VRSK?

Equifax presently has a consensus price target of $294.94, suggesting a potential upside of 12.37%. Verisk Analytics has a consensus price target of $302.40, suggesting a potential upside of 0.40%. Given Equifax's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Equifax is more favorable than Verisk Analytics.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equifax	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.74
Verisk Analytics	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.20

Summary

Equifax and Verisk Analytics tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.