ECN Capital (ECN) Competitors

ECN Capital (TSE:ECN) and Home Capital Group (TSE:HCG) 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 institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends and media sentiment.

Is ECN or HCG a better dividend stock?

ECN Capital pays an annual dividend of C$0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Home Capital Group pays an annual dividend of C$0.60 per share. ECN Capital pays out -17.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Home Capital Group pays out 13.4% 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. ECN Capital is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of ECN or HCG?

48.2% of ECN Capital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.1% of Home Capital Group shares are held by institutional investors. 18.3% of ECN Capital shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Home Capital Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is ECN or HCG more profitable?

Home Capital Group has a net margin of 33.98% compared to ECN Capital's net margin of -24.40%. Home Capital Group's return on equity of 10.77% beat ECN Capital's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ECN Capital	-24.40%	-21.93%	-4.85%
Home Capital Group	33.98%	10.77%	0.77%

Do analysts rate ECN or HCG?

ECN Capital currently has a consensus price target of C$3.42, suggesting a potential upside of 20.73%. Given ECN Capital's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ECN Capital is more favorable than Home Capital Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ECN Capital	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Home Capital Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Does the media favor ECN or HCG?

In the previous week, ECN Capital had 1 more articles in the media than Home Capital Group. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for ECN Capital and 0 mentions for Home Capital Group. ECN Capital's average media sentiment score of 1.27 beat Home Capital Group's score of 0.00 indicating that ECN Capital is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
ECN Capital	Positive
Home Capital Group	Neutral

Which has more volatility & risk, ECN or HCG?

ECN Capital has a beta of 1.35, suggesting that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Home Capital Group has a beta of 1.94, suggesting that its share price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, ECN or HCG?

Home Capital Group has higher revenue and earnings than ECN Capital. ECN Capital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Home Capital 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
ECN Capital	C$131.39M	4.32	-C$32.06M	-C$0.22	-12.64
Home Capital Group	C$512.55M	0.00	C$174.16M	C$4.48	N/A

Summary

ECN Capital and Home Capital Group tied by winning 8 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.