Allegion (ALLE) Competitors

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

Is ALLE or AOS a better dividend stock?

Allegion pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. A. O. Smith pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Allegion pays out 28.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. A. O. Smith pays out 37.9% 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. Allegion has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years and A. O. Smith has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years. A. O. Smith is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better earnings & valuation, ALLE or AOS?

Allegion has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Allegion	$3.77B	4.02	$597.50M	$7.20	24.52
A. O. Smith	$3.82B	2.68	$533.60M	$3.59	20.37

Do analysts prefer ALLE or AOS?

Allegion presently has a consensus price target of $170.25, suggesting a potential downside of 3.56%. A. O. Smith has a consensus price target of $77.43, suggesting a potential upside of 5.88%. Given A. O. Smith's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe A. O. Smith is more favorable than Allegion.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Allegion	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.22
A. O. Smith	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29

Is ALLE or AOS more profitable?

Allegion has a net margin of 16.15% compared to A. O. Smith's net margin of 13.68%. Allegion's return on equity of 42.62% beat A. O. Smith's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Allegion	16.15%	42.62%	14.55%
A. O. Smith	13.68%	28.42%	16.52%

Does the media favor ALLE or AOS?

In the previous week, A. O. Smith had 6 more articles in the media than Allegion. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for A. O. Smith and 19 mentions for Allegion. A. O. Smith's average media sentiment score of 1.26 beat Allegion's score of 1.05 indicating that A. O. Smith is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Allegion	10 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
A. O. Smith	12 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in ALLE or AOS?

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

Which has more volatility and risk, ALLE or AOS?

Allegion has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, A. O. Smith has a beta of 1.25, meaning that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

A. O. Smith beats Allegion on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.