Secure Trust Bank (STB) Competitors

Secure Trust Bank (LON:STB) and Close Brothers Group (LON:CBG) are both small-cap financial services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability and risk.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in STB or CBG?

73.4% of Secure Trust Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.3% of Close Brothers Group shares are held by institutional investors. 14.9% of Secure Trust Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Close Brothers Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is STB or CBG a better dividend stock?

Secure Trust Bank pays an annual dividend of GBX 28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Close Brothers Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 68 per share and has a dividend yield of 17.1%. Secure Trust Bank pays out 20.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Close Brothers Group pays out 102.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Which has more volatility and risk, STB or CBG?

Secure Trust Bank has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Close Brothers Group has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is STB or CBG more profitable?

Close Brothers Group has a net margin of 7.79% compared to Secure Trust Bank's net margin of 7.20%. Secure Trust Bank's return on equity of 7.43% beat Close Brothers Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Secure Trust Bank	7.20%	7.43%	0.72%
Close Brothers Group	7.79%	5.78%	0.73%

Does the media refer more to STB or CBG?

In the previous week, Close Brothers Group had 1 more articles in the media than Secure Trust Bank. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Close Brothers Group and 5 mentions for Secure Trust Bank. Secure Trust Bank's average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Close Brothers Group's score of 0.10 indicating that Secure Trust Bank is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Secure Trust Bank	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Close Brothers Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has higher valuation and earnings, STB or CBG?

Close Brothers Group has higher revenue and earnings than Secure Trust Bank. Close Brothers Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Secure Trust Bank, 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
Secure Trust Bank	£361.02M	0.51	£26.00M	£135.17	7.10
Close Brothers Group	£1.30B	0.46	£101.11M	£66.37	5.98

Do analysts recommend STB or CBG?

Secure Trust Bank presently has a consensus price target of GBX 1,420, indicating a potential upside of 47.92%. Close Brothers Group has a consensus price target of GBX 505, indicating a potential upside of 27.14%. Given Secure Trust Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Secure Trust Bank is more favorable than Close Brothers Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Secure Trust Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Close Brothers Group	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Summary

Secure Trust Bank beats Close Brothers Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.