The Sage Group (SGE) Competitors

Haleon (LON:HLN) and The Sage Group (LON:SGE) are both large-cap consumer goods companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Do analysts recommend HLN or SGE?

Haleon currently has a consensus target price of GBX 457, suggesting a potential upside of 22.49%. The Sage Group has a consensus target price of GBX 3,906, suggesting a potential upside of 222.01%. Given The Sage Group's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe The Sage Group is more favorable than Haleon.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Haleon	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
The Sage Group	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is HLN or SGE more profitable?

The Sage Group has a net margin of 11.87% compared to Haleon's net margin of 9.66%. The Sage Group's return on equity of 24.48% beat Haleon's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Haleon	9.66%	6.54%	4.45%
The Sage Group	11.87%	24.48%	7.58%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in HLN or SGE?

43.9% of Haleon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.0% of The Sage Group shares are held by institutional investors. 10.7% of Haleon shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of The Sage Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is HLN or SGE a better dividend stock?

Haleon pays an annual dividend of GBX 6 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. The Sage Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Haleon pays out 50.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Sage Group pays out 77.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Does the media prefer HLN or SGE?

In the previous week, The Sage Group had 3 more articles in the media than Haleon. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for The Sage Group and 3 mentions for Haleon. The Sage Group's average media sentiment score of 0.41 beat Haleon's score of -0.74 indicating that The Sage Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Haleon	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Negative
The Sage Group	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, HLN or SGE?

Haleon has higher revenue and earnings than The Sage Group. Haleon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Sage 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
Haleon	£11.07B	3.04	£1.07B	£11.89	31.38
The Sage Group	£2.14B	5.60	£254.60M	£25.73	47.15

Which has more volatility and risk, HLN or SGE?

Haleon has a beta of 0.19, meaning that its share price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Sage Group has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

The Sage Group beats Haleon on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.