Emerald (EEX) Competitors

Emerald (NYSE:EEX) and Herc (NYSE:HRI) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and media sentiment.

Is EEX or HRI a better dividend stock?

Emerald pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Herc pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Emerald pays out 200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Herc pays out 62.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Herc has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Herc is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in EEX or HRI?

14.9% of Emerald shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.1% of Herc shares are held by institutional investors. 4.0% of Emerald shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Herc shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to EEX or HRI?

In the previous week, Emerald had 2 more articles in the media than Herc. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Emerald and 7 mentions for Herc. Herc's average media sentiment score of 0.73 beat Emerald's score of -0.06 indicating that Herc is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Emerald	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Herc	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher valuation and earnings, EEX or HRI?

Herc has higher revenue and earnings than Emerald. Herc is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Emerald, 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
Emerald	$398.80M	2.49	$2.20M	$0.03	166.67
Herc	$3.57B	1.09	$211M	$4.49	30.47

Do analysts rate EEX or HRI?

Emerald presently has a consensus price target of $7.90, indicating a potential upside of 58.00%. Herc has a consensus price target of $139.20, indicating a potential upside of 1.73%. Given Emerald's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Emerald is more favorable than Herc.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Emerald	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Herc	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Which has more risk and volatility, EEX or HRI?

Emerald has a beta of 1.09, meaning that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Herc has a beta of 1.86, meaning that its share price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is EEX or HRI more profitable?

Herc has a net margin of 3.53% compared to Emerald's net margin of 1.57%. Herc's return on equity of 24.10% beat Emerald's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Emerald	1.57%	1.75%	0.63%
Herc	3.53%	24.10%	4.30%

Summary

Herc beats Emerald on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.