Science Applications International (NYSE:SAIC) and Cerner (NASDAQ:CERN) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, valuation and risk.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Science Applications International and Cerner's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Science Applications International | $6.38 billion | 0.80 | $226 million | $5.66 | 15.43 |
Cerner | $5.69 billion | 3.75 | $529.45 million | $2.41 | 28.95 |
Cerner has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Science Applications International. Science Applications International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cerner, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Science Applications International has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cerner has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Science Applications International pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Cerner pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Science Applications International pays out 26.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cerner pays out 36.5% 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. Science Applications International has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Cerner has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Science Applications International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
77.0% of Science Applications International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Cerner shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Science Applications International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Cerner shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Science Applications International and Cerner's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Science Applications International | 2.99% | 25.09% | 6.45% |
Cerner | 14.28% | 18.14% | 10.81% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Science Applications International and Cerner, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Science Applications International | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3.00 |
Cerner | 2 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 2.47 |
Science Applications International currently has a consensus price target of $99.8750, indicating a potential upside of 14.92%. Cerner has a consensus price target of $79.7778, indicating a potential upside of 14.25%. Given Science Applications International's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Science Applications International is more favorable than Cerner.
Summary
Science Applications International beats Cerner on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.