AON (AON) Competitors

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) and AON (NYSE:AON) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Is WTW or AON more profitable?

AON has a net margin of 15.58% compared to Willis Towers Watson Public's net margin of -0.54%. AON's return on equity of 52.71% beat Willis Towers Watson Public's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Willis Towers Watson Public	-0.54%	20.53%	6.06%
AON	15.58%	52.71%	6.82%

Is WTW or AON a better dividend stock?

Willis Towers Watson Public pays an annual dividend of $3.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. AON pays an annual dividend of $2.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Willis Towers Watson Public pays out -736.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AON pays out 25.4% 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. Willis Towers Watson Public has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Willis Towers Watson Public is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better earnings and valuation, WTW or AON?

AON has higher revenue and earnings than Willis Towers Watson Public. Willis Towers Watson Public is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AON, 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
Willis Towers Watson Public	$9.93B	3.06	-$98M	-$0.50	-613.25
AON	$15.70B	4.88	$2.65B	$11.74	30.25

Does the media favor WTW or AON?

In the previous week, AON had 5 more articles in the media than Willis Towers Watson Public. MarketBeat recorded 22 mentions for AON and 17 mentions for Willis Towers Watson Public. Willis Towers Watson Public's average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat AON's score of 0.77 indicating that Willis Towers Watson Public is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Willis Towers Watson Public	14 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AON	17 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, WTW or AON?

Willis Towers Watson Public has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AON has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer WTW or AON?

Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus price target of $356.30, indicating a potential upside of 16.20%. AON has a consensus price target of $397.27, indicating a potential upside of 11.88%. Given Willis Towers Watson Public's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Willis Towers Watson Public is more favorable than AON.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Willis Towers Watson Public	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
AON	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of WTW or AON?

93.1% of Willis Towers Watson Public shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of AON shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Willis Towers Watson Public shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of AON shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

AON beats Willis Towers Watson Public on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.