AMETEK (AME) Competitors

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) and Eaton (NYSE:ETN) are both large-cap electrical components & equipment companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, institutional ownership and valuation.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of AME or ETN?

87.4% of AMETEK shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Eaton shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of AMETEK shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Eaton shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is AME or ETN more profitable?

AMETEK has a net margin of 20.43% compared to Eaton's net margin of 15.55%. Eaton's return on equity of 23.41% beat AMETEK's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AMETEK	20.43%	16.75%	10.90%
Eaton	15.55%	23.41%	11.31%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, AME or ETN?

Eaton has higher revenue and earnings than AMETEK. AMETEK is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eaton, 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
AMETEK	$6.94B	6.05	$1.38B	$6.11	29.78
Eaton	$24.88B	5.64	$3.79B	$9.91	36.16

Which has more volatility and risk, AME or ETN?

AMETEK has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eaton has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer AME or ETN?

In the previous week, Eaton had 50 more articles in the media than AMETEK. MarketBeat recorded 61 mentions for Eaton and 11 mentions for AMETEK. AMETEK's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat Eaton's score of 1.39 indicating that AMETEK is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AMETEK	9 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Eaton	46 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AME or ETN a better dividend stock?

AMETEK pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Eaton pays an annual dividend of $4.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. AMETEK pays out 20.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eaton pays out 42.0% 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. AMETEK has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Do analysts rate AME or ETN?

AMETEK presently has a consensus target price of $197.89, indicating a potential upside of 8.77%. Eaton has a consensus target price of $369.06, indicating a potential upside of 2.99%. Given AMETEK's higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe AMETEK is more favorable than Eaton.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AMETEK	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64
Eaton	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68

Summary

Eaton beats AMETEK on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.