Agilent Technologies (A) Competitors

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) are related large-cap companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, media sentiment, dividends and earnings.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, AMAT or A?

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Agilent Technologies. Applied Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Agilent Technologies, 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
Applied Materials	$27.18B	5.41	$7.18B	$8.22	22.28
Agilent Technologies	$6.51B	4.97	$1.29B	$4.05	28.12

Do analysts prefer AMAT or A?

Applied Materials currently has a consensus target price of $204.09, indicating a potential upside of 11.43%. Agilent Technologies has a consensus target price of $139.77, indicating a potential upside of 22.74%. Given Agilent Technologies' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Agilent Technologies is more favorable than Applied Materials.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68
Agilent Technologies	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54

Is AMAT or A more profitable?

Applied Materials has a net margin of 24.06% compared to Agilent Technologies' net margin of 17.59%. Applied Materials' return on equity of 40.15% beat Agilent Technologies' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Materials	24.06%	40.15%	22.42%
Agilent Technologies	17.59%	25.92%	13.24%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in AMAT or A?

80.6% of Applied Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Applied Materials shares are owned 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.

Which has more risk and volatility, AMAT or A?

Applied Materials has a beta of 1.7, meaning that its stock price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Agilent Technologies has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AMAT or A a better dividend stock?

Applied Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Agilent Technologies pays an annual dividend of $0.99 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials pays out 22.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Agilent Technologies pays out 24.4% 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 and Agilent Technologies has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. Applied Materials is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media refer more to AMAT or A?

In the previous week, Applied Materials had 36 more articles in the media than Agilent Technologies. MarketBeat recorded 68 mentions for Applied Materials and 32 mentions for Agilent Technologies. Agilent Technologies' average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat Applied Materials' score of 1.31 indicating that Agilent Technologies is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Applied Materials	52 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Agilent Technologies	28 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Applied Materials beats Agilent Technologies on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.