Allegion (ALLE) Competitors

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) and Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Is AOS or ALLE a better dividend stock?

A. O. Smith pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Allegion pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. A. O. Smith pays out 37.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Allegion pays out 27.6% 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. A. O. Smith has raised its dividend for 31 consecutive years and Allegion has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. A. O. Smith is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, AOS or ALLE?

Allegion has lower revenue, but higher earnings than A. O. Smith. A. O. Smith is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Allegion, 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
A. O. Smith	$3.82B	2.53	$533.60M	$3.59	19.19
Allegion	$3.77B	3.81	$597.50M	$7.39	22.65

Does the media prefer AOS or ALLE?

In the previous week, Allegion had 24 more articles in the media than A. O. Smith. MarketBeat recorded 35 mentions for Allegion and 11 mentions for A. O. Smith. A. O. Smith's average media sentiment score of 0.88 beat Allegion's score of 0.72 indicating that A. O. Smith is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
A. O. Smith	7 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Allegion	10 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	14 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, AOS or ALLE?

A. O. Smith has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Allegion has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate AOS or ALLE?

A. O. Smith currently has a consensus target price of $77.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.75%. Allegion has a consensus target price of $176.38, indicating a potential upside of 5.38%. Given A. O. Smith's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe A. O. Smith is more favorable than Allegion.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
A. O. Smith	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29
Allegion	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.30

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of AOS or ALLE?

76.1% of A. O. Smith shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.2% of Allegion shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of A. O. Smith shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Allegion 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.

Is AOS or ALLE more profitable?

Allegion has a net margin of 16.09% compared to A. O. Smith's net margin of 13.68%. Allegion's return on equity of 40.83% beat A. O. Smith's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
A. O. Smith	13.68%	28.42%	16.52%
Allegion	16.09%	40.83%	14.55%

Summary

Allegion beats A. O. Smith on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.