WSP Global (WSP) Competitors

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

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in WSP or STN?

60.3% of WSP Global shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.5% of Stantec shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of WSP Global shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Stantec shares are owned by company 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.

Which has more risk & volatility, WSP or STN?

WSP Global has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stantec has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is WSP or STN a better dividend stock?

WSP Global pays an annual dividend of C$1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Stantec pays an annual dividend of C$0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. WSP Global pays out 28.7% 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. Stantec is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media refer more to WSP or STN?

In the previous week, Stantec had 2 more articles in the media than WSP Global. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Stantec and 3 mentions for WSP Global. WSP Global's average media sentiment score of 0.82 beat Stantec's score of 0.27 indicating that WSP Global is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
WSP Global	1 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Stantec	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend WSP or STN?

WSP Global presently has a consensus target price of C$284.31, indicating a potential upside of 0.40%. Stantec has a consensus target price of C$148.42, indicating a potential downside of 2.68%. Given WSP Global's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe WSP Global is more favorable than Stantec.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WSP Global	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.09
Stantec	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, WSP or STN?

WSP Global has higher revenue and earnings than Stantec. Stantec is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WSP Global, 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
WSP Global	C$15.75B	2.32	C$667.50M	C$5.23	54.11
Stantec	C$7.14B	2.43	C$341.38M	C$3.00	50.89

Is WSP or STN more profitable?

Stantec has a net margin of 4.78% compared to WSP Global's net margin of 4.24%. Stantec's return on equity of 12.08% beat WSP Global's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WSP Global	4.24%	9.84%	5.07%
Stantec	4.78%	12.08%	5.70%

Summary

Stantec beats WSP Global on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.