Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) and Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
87.2% of Thermo Fisher Scientific shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.8% of Bio-Techne shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Thermo Fisher Scientific shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Bio-Techne shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Thermo Fisher Scientific and Bio-Techne's gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Thermo Fisher Scientific | $25.54 billion | 6.98 | $3.70 billion | $12.35 | 36.44 |
Bio-Techne | $738.69 million | 19.00 | $229.30 million | $3.86 | 93.70 |
Thermo Fisher Scientific has higher revenue and earnings than Bio-Techne. Thermo Fisher Scientific is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bio-Techne, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Thermo Fisher Scientific and Bio-Techne, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Thermo Fisher Scientific | 0 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 2.79 |
Bio-Techne | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2.60 |
Thermo Fisher Scientific currently has a consensus target price of $529.6667, indicating a potential upside of 17.68%. Bio-Techne has a consensus target price of $352.30, indicating a potential downside of 2.60%. Given Thermo Fisher Scientific's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Thermo Fisher Scientific is more favorable than Bio-Techne.
Profitability
This table compares Thermo Fisher Scientific and Bio-Techne's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Thermo Fisher Scientific | 17.12% | 21.35% | 10.55% |
Bio-Techne | 32.69% | 12.20% | 8.09% |
Dividends
Thermo Fisher Scientific pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Bio-Techne pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Thermo Fisher Scientific pays out 7.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bio-Techne pays out 33.2% 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. Thermo Fisher Scientific has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Bio-Techne has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Volatility and Risk
Thermo Fisher Scientific has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bio-Techne has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Thermo Fisher Scientific beats Bio-Techne on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.