Western Digital (WDC) Competitors

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Is WDC or AMAT more profitable?

Applied Materials has a net margin of 24.06% compared to Western Digital's net margin of 14.13%. Applied Materials' return on equity of 40.15% beat Western Digital's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Digital	14.13%	24.93%	10.59%
Applied Materials	24.06%	40.15%	22.42%

Which has more risk & volatility, WDC or AMAT?

Western Digital has a beta of 1.58, indicating that its stock price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Materials has a beta of 1.7, indicating that its stock price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is WDC or AMAT a better dividend stock?

Western Digital pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Western Digital pays out 7.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Applied Materials pays out 22.4% 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. Applied Materials has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Applied Materials is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in WDC or AMAT?

92.5% of Western Digital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.6% of Applied Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Western Digital shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Applied Materials 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.

Which has better earnings and valuation, WDC or AMAT?

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Western Digital. Western Digital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Applied Materials, 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
Western Digital	$9.52B	2.79	$1.89B	$5.15	14.80
Applied Materials	$27.18B	5.56	$7.18B	$8.22	22.90

Do analysts rate WDC or AMAT?

Western Digital currently has a consensus target price of $78.39, indicating a potential upside of 2.82%. Applied Materials has a consensus target price of $204.09, indicating a potential upside of 8.42%. Given Applied Materials' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Applied Materials is more favorable than Western Digital.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Digital	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.85
Applied Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68

Does the media favor WDC or AMAT?

In the previous week, Applied Materials had 76 more articles in the media than Western Digital. MarketBeat recorded 100 mentions for Applied Materials and 24 mentions for Western Digital. Western Digital's average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat Applied Materials' score of 1.11 indicating that Western Digital is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Western Digital	17 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Applied Materials	56 Very Positive mention(s)	8 Positive mention(s)	18 Neutral mention(s)	9 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Applied Materials beats Western Digital on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.