Mears Group (MER) Competitors

XPS Pensions Group (LON:XPS) and Mears Group (LON:MER) are both small-cap consumer cyclical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, valuation, community ranking, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Does the media favor XPS or MER?

In the previous week, XPS Pensions Group had 1 more articles in the media than Mears Group. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for XPS Pensions Group and 3 mentions for Mears Group. Mears Group's average media sentiment score of 0.81 beat XPS Pensions Group's score of 0.24 indicating that Mears Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
XPS Pensions Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Mears Group	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is XPS or MER a better dividend stock?

XPS Pensions Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Mears Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. XPS Pensions Group pays out 8.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mears Group pays out 31.2% 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.

Is XPS or MER more profitable?

XPS Pensions Group has a net margin of 128.13% compared to Mears Group's net margin of 3.67%. XPS Pensions Group's return on equity of 156.24% beat Mears Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
XPS Pensions Group	128.13%	156.24%	7.60%
Mears Group	3.67%	21.83%	5.86%

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, XPS or MER?

XPS Pensions Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Mears Group. XPS Pensions Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mears 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
XPS Pensions Group	£199.97M	3.93	£256.22M	£124.54	3.06
Mears Group	£1.08B	0.32	£39.43M	£44.88	8.78

Does the MarketBeat Community favor XPS or MER?

Mears Group received 239 more outperform votes than XPS Pensions Group when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 75.31% of users gave XPS Pensions Group an outperform vote while only 75.05% of users gave Mears Group an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
XPS Pensions Group	Outperform Votes 122 75.31%	Underperform Votes 40 24.69%
Mears Group	Outperform Votes 361 75.05%	Underperform Votes 120 24.95%

Do analysts rate XPS or MER?

XPS Pensions Group currently has a consensus price target of GBX 396.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.07%. Given XPS Pensions Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe XPS Pensions Group is more favorable than Mears Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
XPS Pensions Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Mears Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has more volatility and risk, XPS or MER?

XPS Pensions Group has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mears Group has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of XPS or MER?

87.3% of XPS Pensions Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 102.0% of Mears Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of XPS Pensions Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Mears Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

XPS Pensions Group beats Mears Group on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.