Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) and Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
85.8% of Cogent Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.3% of Symantec shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.7% of Cogent Communications shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Symantec shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Cogent Communications and Symantec's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Cogent Communications | 6.79% | -20.95% | 4.46% |
| Symantec | 2.43% | 14.94% | 5.33% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations for Cogent Communications and Symantec, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Cogent Communications | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2.25 |
| Symantec | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2.14 |
Cogent Communications presently has a consensus target price of $79.6250, suggesting a potential downside of 2.06%. Symantec has a consensus target price of $23.75, suggesting a potential upside of 18.69%. Given Symantec's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Symantec is more favorable than Cogent Communications.
Risk and Volatility
Cogent Communications has a beta of 0.23, meaning that its stock price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Symantec has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Cogent Communications pays an annual dividend of $2.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Symantec pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Cogent Communications pays out 357.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Symantec pays out 25.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cogent Communications has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Cogent Communications is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Cogent Communications and Symantec's revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Cogent Communications | $546.16 million | 7.02 | $37.52 million | $0.76 | 106.97 |
| Symantec | $4.73 billion | 2.61 | $31 million | $1.17 | 17.10 |
Cogent Communications has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Symantec. Symantec is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cogent Communications, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Cogent Communications beats Symantec on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
