Western Digital (WDC) Competitors

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) and Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their community ranking, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, media sentiment, dividends and risk.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor NTAP or WDC?

Western Digital received 933 more outperform votes than NetApp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 73.94% of users gave Western Digital an outperform vote while only 53.45% of users gave NetApp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
NetApp	Outperform Votes 1147 53.45%	Underperform Votes 999 46.55%
Western Digital	Outperform Votes 2080 73.94%	Underperform Votes 733 26.06%

Which has more risk & volatility, NTAP or WDC?

NetApp has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Western Digital has a beta of 1.39, suggesting that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is NTAP or WDC more profitable?

NetApp has a net margin of 17.78% compared to Western Digital's net margin of 9.95%. NetApp's return on equity of 123.63% beat Western Digital's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NetApp	17.78%	123.63%	13.03%
Western Digital	9.95%	15.68%	7.13%

Is NTAP or WDC a better dividend stock?

NetApp pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Western Digital pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. NetApp pays out 38.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Western Digital pays out 47.6% 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.

Which has better valuation & earnings, NTAP or WDC?

NetApp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Western Digital. Western Digital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NetApp, 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
NetApp	$6.51B	2.81	$986M	$5.40	16.62
Western Digital	$15.60B	0.98	-$798M	$4.20	10.44

Do analysts rate NTAP or WDC?

NetApp currently has a consensus target price of $123.07, indicating a potential upside of 37.12%. Western Digital has a consensus target price of $70.39, indicating a potential upside of 60.49%. Given Western Digital's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Western Digital is more favorable than NetApp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NetApp	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.41
Western Digital	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Do institutionals & insiders believe in NTAP or WDC?

92.2% of NetApp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.5% of Western Digital shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of NetApp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Western Digital shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media refer more to NTAP or WDC?

In the previous week, Western Digital had 31 more articles in the media than NetApp. MarketBeat recorded 61 mentions for Western Digital and 30 mentions for NetApp. NetApp's average media sentiment score of 0.91 beat Western Digital's score of 0.84 indicating that NetApp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
NetApp	15 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Western Digital	25 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	19 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

NetApp and Western Digital tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.