ECN Capital (ECN) Competitors

ECN Capital (TSE:ECN) and First National Financial (TSE:FN) are both financial services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Do analysts recommend ECN or FN?

ECN Capital presently has a consensus price target of C$3.38, indicating a potential upside of 25.00%. First National Financial has a consensus price target of C$45.40, indicating a potential downside of 5.28%. Given ECN Capital's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe ECN Capital is more favorable than First National Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ECN Capital	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
First National Financial	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.67

Is ECN or FN more profitable?

First National Financial has a net margin of 10.70% compared to ECN Capital's net margin of -24.40%. First National Financial's return on equity of 24.41% beat ECN Capital's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ECN Capital	-24.40%	-21.93%	-4.85%
First National Financial	10.70%	24.41%	0.48%

Which has more volatility & risk, ECN or FN?

ECN Capital has a beta of 1.218471, indicating that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First National Financial has a beta of 0.644952, indicating that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ECN or FN a better dividend stock?

ECN Capital pays an annual dividend of C$0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. First National Financial pays an annual dividend of C$2.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. ECN Capital pays out 105.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First National Financial pays out 80.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First National Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media refer more to ECN or FN?

In the previous week, ECN Capital's average media sentiment score of 0.00 equaled First National Financial'saverage media sentiment score.

Company	Overall Sentiment
ECN Capital	Neutral
First National Financial	Neutral

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of ECN or FN?

14.7% of ECN Capital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.6% of First National Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 18.3% of ECN Capital shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 71.5% of First National Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, ECN or FN?

First National Financial has higher revenue and earnings than ECN Capital. First National Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ECN Capital, 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
ECN Capital	C$230.75M	3.29	-C$32.06M	C$0.03	99.43
First National Financial	C$602.36M	4.77	C$185.07M	C$3.07	15.61

Summary

First National Financial beats ECN Capital on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.