Ferguson (FERG) Competitors

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) and TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) are both large-cap wholesale companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and risk.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, FERG or TEL?

TE Connectivity has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ferguson. Ferguson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TE Connectivity, 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
Ferguson	$30.21B	1.42	$1.74B	$8.02	27.18
TE Connectivity	$15.85B	3.16	$3.19B	$4.55	37.11

Do institutionals & insiders believe in FERG or TEL?

82.0% of Ferguson shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.4% of TE Connectivity shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Ferguson shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of TE Connectivity shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer FERG or TEL?

In the previous week, Ferguson had 6 more articles in the media than TE Connectivity. MarketBeat recorded 30 mentions for Ferguson and 24 mentions for TE Connectivity. TE Connectivity's average media sentiment score of 1.22 beat Ferguson's score of 0.79 indicating that TE Connectivity is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ferguson	18 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
TE Connectivity	18 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, FERG or TEL?

Ferguson has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TE Connectivity has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FERG or TEL more profitable?

TE Connectivity has a net margin of 8.67% compared to Ferguson's net margin of 5.68%. Ferguson's return on equity of 34.63% beat TE Connectivity's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ferguson	5.68%	34.63%	11.73%
TE Connectivity	8.67%	19.40%	10.45%

Do analysts prefer FERG or TEL?

Ferguson currently has a consensus target price of $221.27, indicating a potential upside of 1.49%. TE Connectivity has a consensus target price of $162.50, indicating a potential downside of 3.77%. Given Ferguson's higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Ferguson is more favorable than TE Connectivity.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ferguson	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.65
TE Connectivity	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Is FERG or TEL a better dividend stock?

Ferguson pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. TE Connectivity pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Ferguson pays out 41.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TE Connectivity pays out 62.4% 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. TE Connectivity has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. TE Connectivity is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

TE Connectivity beats Ferguson on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.