STEP Energy Services (STEP) Competitors

STEP Energy Services (TSE:STEP) and Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSE:LB) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, community ranking, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in STEP or LB?

Laurentian Bank of Canada received 247 more outperform votes than STEP Energy Services when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 57.07% of users gave STEP Energy Services an outperform vote while only 40.81% of users gave Laurentian Bank of Canada an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
STEP Energy Services	Outperform Votes 117 57.07%	Underperform Votes 88 42.93%
Laurentian Bank of Canada	Outperform Votes 364 40.81%	Underperform Votes 528 59.19%

Do analysts rate STEP or LB?

STEP Energy Services currently has a consensus price target of C$5.42, indicating a potential upside of 13.56%. Laurentian Bank of Canada has a consensus price target of C$28.67, indicating a potential downside of 1.73%. Given STEP Energy Services' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe STEP Energy Services is more favorable than Laurentian Bank of Canada.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
STEP Energy Services	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
Laurentian Bank of Canada	3 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.63

Which has more risk and volatility, STEP or LB?

STEP Energy Services has a beta of 2.07, suggesting that its share price is 107% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Laurentian Bank of Canada has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to STEP or LB?

In the previous week, Laurentian Bank of Canada had 2 more articles in the media than STEP Energy Services. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Laurentian Bank of Canada and 1 mentions for STEP Energy Services. STEP Energy Services' average media sentiment score of 0.82 beat Laurentian Bank of Canada's score of -0.07 indicating that STEP Energy Services is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
STEP Energy Services	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Laurentian Bank of Canada	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do insiders & institutionals believe in STEP or LB?

58.3% of STEP Energy Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.9% of Laurentian Bank of Canada shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of STEP Energy Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Laurentian Bank of Canada shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is STEP or LB more profitable?

STEP Energy Services has a net margin of 6.72% compared to Laurentian Bank of Canada's net margin of -1.64%. STEP Energy Services' return on equity of 18.04% beat Laurentian Bank of Canada's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
STEP Energy Services	6.72%	18.04%	9.15%
Laurentian Bank of Canada	-1.64%	-0.55%	-0.03%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, STEP or LB?

STEP Energy Services has higher revenue and earnings than Laurentian Bank of Canada. Laurentian Bank of Canada is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than STEP Energy Services, 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
STEP Energy Services	C$1B	0.34	C$67.32M	C$0.90	5.30
Laurentian Bank of Canada	C$947.10M	1.35	-C$27.32M	-C$0.62	-47.05

Summary

STEP Energy Services beats Laurentian Bank of Canada on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.