Aecon Group (ARE) Competitors

Bird Construction (TSE:BDT) and Aecon Group (TSE:ARE) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Is BDT or ARE a better dividend stock?

Bird Construction pays an annual dividend of C$0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Aecon Group pays an annual dividend of C$0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Bird Construction pays out 50.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Aecon Group pays out -74.8% 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. Aecon Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has more risk and volatility, BDT or ARE?

Bird Construction has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aecon Group has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of BDT or ARE?

34.0% of Bird Construction shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.2% of Aecon Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of Bird Construction shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Aecon Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is BDT or ARE more profitable?

Bird Construction has a net margin of 2.81% compared to Aecon Group's net margin of -1.56%. Bird Construction's return on equity of 26.11% beat Aecon Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bird Construction	2.81%	26.11%	4.80%
Aecon Group	-1.56%	-6.40%	-3.46%

Which has better valuation & earnings, BDT or ARE?

Bird Construction has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Aecon Group. Aecon Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bird Construction, 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
Bird Construction	C$3.31B	0.40	C$93.17M	C$1.65	14.39
Aecon Group	C$4.16B	0.31	-C$64.67M	-C$1.02	-20.26

Do analysts rate BDT or ARE?

Bird Construction currently has a consensus target price of C$32.38, suggesting a potential upside of 36.26%. Aecon Group has a consensus target price of C$22.70, suggesting a potential upside of 10.19%. Given Bird Construction's higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Bird Construction is more favorable than Aecon Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bird Construction	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.20
Aecon Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.20

Does the media refer more to BDT or ARE?

In the previous week, Bird Construction had 30 more articles in the media than Aecon Group. MarketBeat recorded 30 mentions for Bird Construction and 0 mentions for Aecon Group. Aecon Group's average media sentiment score of 0.00 beat Bird Construction's score of -0.31 indicating that Aecon Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Bird Construction	Neutral
Aecon Group	Neutral

Summary

Bird Construction beats Aecon Group on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.