BlackRock Throgmorton Trust (THRG) Competitors

BlackRock Throgmorton Trust (LON:THRG) and The Mercantile Investment Trust (LON:MRC) 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 risk, institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, THRG or MRC?

The Mercantile Investment Trust has higher revenue and earnings than BlackRock Throgmorton Trust. The Mercantile Investment Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BlackRock Throgmorton Trust, 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
BlackRock Throgmorton Trust	£82.32M	5.92	£76.42M	£94.39	6.34
The Mercantile Investment Trust	£415.73M	4.53	£393.55M	£53.19	4.77

Is THRG or MRC more profitable?

The Mercantile Investment Trust has a net margin of 94.67% compared to BlackRock Throgmorton Trust's net margin of 92.84%. The Mercantile Investment Trust's return on equity of 20.56% beat BlackRock Throgmorton Trust's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BlackRock Throgmorton Trust	92.84%	14.49%	8.87%
The Mercantile Investment Trust	94.67%	20.56%	2.53%

Is THRG or MRC a better dividend stock?

BlackRock Throgmorton Trust pays an annual dividend of GBX 15 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. The Mercantile Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of GBX 8 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. BlackRock Throgmorton Trust pays out 15.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Mercantile Investment Trust pays out 15.0% 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. The Mercantile Investment Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media prefer THRG or MRC?

In the previous week, BlackRock Throgmorton Trust had 2 more articles in the media than The Mercantile Investment Trust. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for BlackRock Throgmorton Trust and 1 mentions for The Mercantile Investment Trust. The Mercantile Investment Trust's average media sentiment score of 1.68 beat BlackRock Throgmorton Trust's score of 1.15 indicating that The Mercantile Investment Trust is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
BlackRock Throgmorton Trust	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
The Mercantile Investment 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

Which has more risk and volatility, THRG or MRC?

BlackRock Throgmorton Trust has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Mercantile Investment Trust has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in THRG or MRC?

28.8% of BlackRock Throgmorton Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.8% of The Mercantile Investment Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.7% of BlackRock Throgmorton Trust shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of The Mercantile Investment Trust 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.

Summary

The Mercantile Investment Trust beats BlackRock Throgmorton Trust on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.