Stella-Jones (SJ) Competitors

Stantec (TSE:STN) and Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Which has better valuation & earnings, STN or SJ?

Stantec has higher revenue and earnings than Stella-Jones. Stella-Jones is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stantec, 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
Stantec	C$7.78B	2.22	C$341.38M	C$3.82	39.55
Stella-Jones	C$3.45B	1.27	C$321.05M	C$5.94	13.40

Is STN or SJ a better dividend stock?

Stantec pays an annual dividend of C$0.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Stella-Jones pays an annual dividend of C$1.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Stantec pays out 22.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Stella-Jones pays out 19.9% 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. Stella-Jones is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of STN or SJ?

55.0% of Stantec shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.7% of Stella-Jones shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Stantec shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Stella-Jones shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, STN or SJ?

Stantec has a beta of 0.921545, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stella-Jones has a beta of 0.00388, suggesting that its share price is 100% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend STN or SJ?

Stantec currently has a consensus price target of C$155.50, indicating a potential upside of 2.92%. Stella-Jones has a consensus price target of C$84.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.17%. Given Stella-Jones' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Stella-Jones is more favorable than Stantec.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stantec	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Stella-Jones	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is STN or SJ more profitable?

Stella-Jones has a net margin of 9.43% compared to Stantec's net margin of 4.78%. Stella-Jones' return on equity of 18.36% beat Stantec's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stantec	4.78%	12.08%	5.70%
Stella-Jones	9.43%	18.36%	9.38%

Does the media favor STN or SJ?

In the previous week, Stella-Jones had 2 more articles in the media than Stantec. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Stella-Jones and 2 mentions for Stantec. Stantec's average media sentiment score of 0.65 beat Stella-Jones' score of 0.32 indicating that Stantec is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Stantec	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Stella-Jones	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Stantec beats Stella-Jones on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.