Stantec (STN) Competitors

Stantec (TSE:STN) and Waste Connections (TSE:WCN) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.

Which has more risk & volatility, STN or WCN?

Stantec has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waste Connections has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is STN or WCN more profitable?

Waste Connections has a net margin of 10.81% compared to Stantec's net margin of 4.78%. Stantec's return on equity of 12.08% beat Waste Connections' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stantec	4.78%	12.08%	5.70%
Waste Connections	10.81%	11.86%	5.00%

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in STN or WCN?

73.5% of Stantec shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.6% of Waste Connections shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Stantec shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Waste Connections shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts rate STN or WCN?

Stantec presently has a consensus target price of C$148.42, indicating a potential downside of 0.41%. Waste Connections has a consensus target price of C$265.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.47%. Given Waste Connections' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Waste Connections is more favorable than Stantec.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stantec	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Waste Connections	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.33

Is STN or WCN a better dividend stock?

Stantec pays an annual dividend of C$0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of C$1.55 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Stantec pays out 28.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Waste Connections pays out 30.0% 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.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, STN or WCN?

Waste Connections has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Stantec. Waste Connections 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
Stantec	C$7.14B	2.38	C$341.38M	C$3.00	49.73
Waste Connections	C$6.13B	7.25	C$662.45M	C$5.17	47.22

Does the media prefer STN or WCN?

In the previous week, Stantec had 1 more articles in the media than Waste Connections. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Stantec and 4 mentions for Waste Connections. Stantec's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Waste Connections' score of -0.71 indicating that Stantec is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Stantec	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Waste Connections	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Negative

Summary

Stantec beats Waste Connections on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.