Stella-Jones (SJ) Competitors

Stella-Jones (TSE:SJ) and Stantec (TSE:STN) are both business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, SJ or STN?

Stantec has higher revenue and earnings than Stella-Jones. Stella-Jones is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stantec, 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
Stella-Jones	C$3.41B	1.31	C$321.05M	C$5.73	13.90
Stantec	C$7.14B	2.43	C$341.38M	C$3.00	50.89

Does the media prefer SJ or STN?

In the previous week, Stella-Jones had 1 more articles in the media than Stantec. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Stella-Jones and 5 mentions for Stantec. Stella-Jones' average media sentiment score of 0.40 beat Stantec's score of 0.34 indicating that Stella-Jones is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Stella-Jones	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Stantec	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is SJ or STN a better dividend stock?

Stella-Jones pays an annual dividend of C$1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Stantec pays an annual dividend of C$0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Stella-Jones pays out 19.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Stantec pays out 28.0% 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. Stella-Jones is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts prefer SJ or STN?

Stella-Jones currently has a consensus price target of C$87.17, indicating a potential upside of 9.49%. Stantec has a consensus price target of C$148.42, indicating a potential downside of 2.68%. Given Stella-Jones' higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Stella-Jones is more favorable than Stantec.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stella-Jones	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Stantec	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Do institutionals & insiders believe in SJ or STN?

63.6% of Stella-Jones shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.5% of Stantec shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Stella-Jones shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Stantec shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is SJ or STN more profitable?

Stella-Jones has a net margin of 9.43% compared to Stantec's net margin of 4.78%. Stella-Jones' return on equity of 18.36% beat Stantec's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stella-Jones	9.43%	18.36%	9.38%
Stantec	4.78%	12.08%	5.70%

Which has more risk & volatility, SJ or STN?

Stella-Jones has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stantec has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Stella-Jones beats Stantec on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.