Smith & Nephew (SN) Competitors

Haleon (LON:HLN) and Smith & Nephew (LON:SN) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Is HLN or SN more profitable?

Haleon has a net margin of 9.66% compared to Smith & Nephew's net margin of 5.41%. Haleon's return on equity of 6.54% beat Smith & Nephew's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Haleon	9.66%	6.54%	4.45%
Smith & Nephew	5.41%	5.85%	4.51%

Which has more risk & volatility, HLN or SN?

Haleon has a beta of 0.19, indicating that its share price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smith & Nephew has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in HLN or SN?

25.5% of Haleon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.2% of Smith & Nephew shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Haleon shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Smith & Nephew shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts prefer HLN or SN?

Haleon presently has a consensus target price of GBX 436.67, indicating a potential upside of 31.88%. Smith & Nephew has a consensus target price of GBX 1,379.33, indicating a potential upside of 3.17%. Given Haleon's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Haleon is more favorable than Smith & Nephew.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Haleon	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
Smith & Nephew	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has higher valuation & earnings, HLN or SN?

Haleon has higher revenue and earnings than Smith & Nephew. Smith & Nephew is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Haleon, 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	£11.02B	2.68	£1.07B	£0.17	1,982.63
Smith & Nephew	£7.08B	2.07	£382.79M	£27.77	48.14

Is HLN or SN a better dividend stock?

Haleon pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Smith & Nephew pays an annual dividend of GBX 29 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Haleon pays out 39.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Smith & Nephew pays out 104.4% 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 favor HLN or SN?

In the previous week, Smith & Nephew had 1 more articles in the media than Haleon. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Smith & Nephew and 1 mentions for Haleon. Haleon's average media sentiment score of 1.11 beat Smith & Nephew's score of 0.22 indicating that Haleon is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Haleon	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Smith & Nephew	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Haleon beats Smith & Nephew on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.