STEP Energy Services (STEP) Competitors

STEP Energy Services (TSE:STEP) and Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSE:LB) are both small-cap trading companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility & risk, STEP or LB?

STEP Energy Services has a beta of 1.786224, suggesting that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Laurentian Bank of Canada has a beta of 1.434464, suggesting that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in STEP or LB?

2.7% of STEP Energy Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 14.5% of Laurentian Bank of Canada shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of STEP Energy Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Laurentian Bank of Canada shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is STEP or LB more profitable?

STEP Energy Services has a net margin of 4.10% compared to Laurentian Bank of Canada's net margin of -0.30%. STEP Energy Services' return on equity of 10.51% beat Laurentian Bank of Canada's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
STEP Energy Services	4.10%	10.51%	9.15%
Laurentian Bank of Canada	-0.30%	-0.20%	-0.03%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, STEP or LB?

STEP Energy Services has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Laurentian Bank of Canada. STEP Energy Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Laurentian Bank of Canada, 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
STEP Energy Services	C$939.19M	0.42	C$41.05M	-C$0.27	-19.96
Laurentian Bank of Canada	C$974.90M	1.47	-C$5.52M	C$3.05	10.60

Do analysts prefer STEP or LB?

STEP Energy Services presently has a consensus target price of C$5.04, suggesting a potential downside of 6.46%. Laurentian Bank of Canada has a consensus target price of C$30.57, suggesting a potential downside of 5.41%. Given Laurentian Bank of Canada's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Laurentian Bank of Canada is more favorable than STEP Energy Services.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
STEP Energy Services	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Laurentian Bank of Canada	3 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.57

Does the media prefer STEP or LB?

In the previous week, STEP Energy Services' average media sentiment score of 0.00 equaled Laurentian Bank of Canada'saverage media sentiment score.

Company	Overall Sentiment
STEP Energy Services	Neutral
Laurentian Bank of Canada	Neutral

Summary

STEP Energy Services beats Laurentian Bank of Canada on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.