WH Smith (SMWH) Competitors

Dechra Pharmaceuticals (LON:DPH) and WH Smith (LON:SMWH) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, community ranking, institutional ownership and risk.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor DPH or SMWH?

WH Smith received 137 more outperform votes than Dechra Pharmaceuticals when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 63.00% of users gave Dechra Pharmaceuticals an outperform vote while only 62.55% of users gave WH Smith an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Dechra Pharmaceuticals	Outperform Votes 344 63.00%	Underperform Votes 202 37.00%
WH Smith	Outperform Votes 481 62.55%	Underperform Votes 288 37.45%

Does the media refer more to DPH or SMWH?

In the previous week, WH Smith had 1 more articles in the media than Dechra Pharmaceuticals. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for WH Smith and 0 mentions for Dechra Pharmaceuticals. Dechra Pharmaceuticals' average media sentiment score of 0.00 beat WH Smith's score of -0.10 indicating that Dechra Pharmaceuticals is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Dechra Pharmaceuticals	Neutral
WH Smith	Neutral

Which has more risk and volatility, DPH or SMWH?

Dechra Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WH Smith has a beta of 1.67, meaning that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, DPH or SMWH?

WH Smith has higher revenue and earnings than Dechra Pharmaceuticals. Dechra Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WH Smith, 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
Dechra Pharmaceuticals	£761.50M	0.00	-£27.90M	-£0.25	N/A
WH Smith	£1.83B	0.64	£63.01M	£48.47	18.85

Do analysts prefer DPH or SMWH?

WH Smith has a consensus target price of GBX 1,456.67, indicating a potential upside of 59.46%. Given WH Smith's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe WH Smith is more favorable than Dechra Pharmaceuticals.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dechra Pharmaceuticals	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
WH Smith	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Is DPH or SMWH more profitable?

WH Smith has a net margin of 3.44% compared to Dechra Pharmaceuticals' net margin of -3.66%. WH Smith's return on equity of 17.78% beat Dechra Pharmaceuticals' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dechra Pharmaceuticals	-3.66%	-3.92%	0.75%
WH Smith	3.44%	17.78%	6.62%

Is DPH or SMWH a better dividend stock?

Dechra Pharmaceuticals pays an annual dividend of GBX 45 per share. WH Smith pays an annual dividend of GBX 32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Dechra Pharmaceuticals pays out -18,000.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WH Smith pays out 66.0% 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.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in DPH or SMWH?

105.5% of Dechra Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.2% of WH Smith shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.3% of Dechra Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of WH Smith shares are owned 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.

Summary

WH Smith beats Dechra Pharmaceuticals on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.