Montanaro European Smaller (MTE) Competitors

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (LON:ASL) and Montanaro European Smaller (LON:MTE) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Is ASL or MTE a better dividend stock?

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust pays an annual dividend of GBX 42 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Montanaro European Smaller pays an annual dividend of GBX 1 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust pays out 13.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Montanaro European Smaller pays out 3.6% 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.

Does the media refer more to ASL or MTE?

In the previous week, Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust and Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust both had 1 articles in the media. Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.66 beat Montanaro European Smaller's score of 0.59 indicating that Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Montanaro European Smaller	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ASL or MTE?

52.3% of Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.1% of Montanaro European Smaller shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.4% of Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Montanaro European Smaller shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, ASL or MTE?

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Montanaro European Smaller. Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Montanaro European Smaller, 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
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust	£226.05M	5.65	£255.01M	£304.31	5.03
Montanaro European Smaller	£57.06M	5.78	£53.01M	£27.52	6.30

Is ASL or MTE more profitable?

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust has a net margin of 112.81% compared to Montanaro European Smaller's net margin of 92.90%. Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust's return on equity of 18.22% beat Montanaro European Smaller's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust	112.81%	18.22%	11.67%
Montanaro European Smaller	92.90%	16.87%	2.99%

Which has more volatility and risk, ASL or MTE?

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Montanaro European Smaller has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust beats Montanaro European Smaller on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.