The European Smaller Companies Trust (ESCT) Competitors

The European Smaller Companies Trust (LON:ESCT) and Burford Capital (LON:BUR) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, risk, community ranking, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Does the media refer more to ESCT or BUR?

In the previous week, The European Smaller Companies Trust had 3 more articles in the media than Burford Capital. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for The European Smaller Companies Trust and 0 mentions for Burford Capital. The European Smaller Companies Trust's average media sentiment score of 0.98 beat Burford Capital's score of 0.00 indicating that The European Smaller Companies Trust is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
The European Smaller Companies Trust	Positive
Burford Capital	Neutral

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ESCT or BUR?

34.1% of The European Smaller Companies Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.2% of Burford Capital shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of The European Smaller Companies Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.6% of Burford Capital shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ESCT or BUR more profitable?

The European Smaller Companies Trust has a net margin of 87.06% compared to Burford Capital's net margin of 64.53%. The European Smaller Companies Trust's return on equity of 10.91% beat Burford Capital's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The European Smaller Companies Trust	87.06%	10.91%	6.62%
Burford Capital	64.53%	6.70%	10.28%

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ESCT or BUR?

Burford Capital received 383 more outperform votes than The European Smaller Companies Trust when rated by MarketBeat users.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
The European Smaller Companies Trust	N/A	N/A
Burford Capital	Outperform Votes 383 74.66%	Underperform Votes 130 25.34%

Is ESCT or BUR a better dividend stock?

The European Smaller Companies Trust pays an annual dividend of GBX 5 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Burford Capital pays an annual dividend of GBX 10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. The European Smaller Companies Trust pays out 23.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Burford Capital pays out 17.9% 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.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, ESCT or BUR?

Burford Capital has higher revenue and earnings than The European Smaller Companies Trust. The European Smaller Companies Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Burford 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
The European Smaller Companies Trust	£96.24M	7.68	£83.79M	£21.21	8.84
Burford Capital	£299.55M	9.76	£193.30M	£55.90	19.00

Do analysts rate ESCT or BUR?

Burford Capital has a consensus target price of GBX 1,600, indicating a potential upside of 50.66%. Given Burford Capital's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Burford Capital is more favorable than The European Smaller Companies Trust.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The European Smaller Companies Trust	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Burford Capital	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has more risk and volatility, ESCT or BUR?

The European Smaller Companies Trust has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Burford Capital has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Burford Capital beats The European Smaller Companies Trust on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.