The European Smaller Companies Trust (ESCT) Competitors

Bridgepoint Group (LON:BPT) and The European Smaller Companies Trust (LON:ESCT) are both financial services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, media sentiment, valuation, community ranking, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Is BPT or ESCT a better dividend stock?

Bridgepoint Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 9 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. The European Smaller Companies Trust pays an annual dividend of GBX 5 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Bridgepoint Group pays out 11,250.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. The European Smaller Companies Trust pays out 2,381.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. The European Smaller Companies Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in BPT or ESCT?

20.4% of Bridgepoint Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.1% of The European Smaller Companies Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 20.0% of Bridgepoint Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of The European Smaller Companies Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in BPT or ESCT?

Bridgepoint Group received 11 more outperform votes than The European Smaller Companies Trust when rated by MarketBeat users.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Bridgepoint Group	Outperform Votes 11 78.57%	Underperform Votes 3 21.43%
The European Smaller Companies Trust	N/A	N/A

Which has higher earnings & valuation, BPT or ESCT?

The European Smaller Companies Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Bridgepoint Group. The European Smaller Companies Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bridgepoint Group, 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
Bridgepoint Group	£342.10M	7.57	£65.60M	£0.08	3,932.50
The European Smaller Companies Trust	£97.50M	6.71	£84.90M	£0.21	789.52

Does the media refer more to BPT or ESCT?

In the previous week, The European Smaller Companies Trust had 1 more articles in the media than Bridgepoint Group. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for The European Smaller Companies Trust and 0 mentions for Bridgepoint Group. The European Smaller Companies Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.68 beat Bridgepoint Group's score of 0.00 indicating that The European Smaller Companies Trust is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Bridgepoint Group	Neutral
The European Smaller Companies Trust	Very Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, BPT or ESCT?

Bridgepoint Group has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The European Smaller Companies Trust has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BPT or ESCT more profitable?

The European Smaller Companies Trust has a net margin of 87.07% compared to Bridgepoint Group's net margin of 19.18%. The European Smaller Companies Trust's return on equity of 11.05% beat Bridgepoint Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bridgepoint Group	19.18%	8.85%	3.47%
The European Smaller Companies Trust	87.07%	11.05%	6.62%

Do analysts rate BPT or ESCT?

Bridgepoint Group currently has a consensus target price of GBX 334, indicating a potential upside of 6.17%. Given Bridgepoint Group's higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Bridgepoint Group is more favorable than The European Smaller Companies Trust.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bridgepoint Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
The European Smaller Companies Trust	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	N/A

Summary

The European Smaller Companies Trust beats Bridgepoint Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.