Belden (BDC) Competitors

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) and Belden (NYSE:BDC) are related mid-cap companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, media sentiment, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Is AVT or BDC more profitable?

Belden has a net margin of 8.35% compared to Avnet's net margin of 1.43%. Belden's return on equity of 22.28% beat Avnet's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avnet	1.43%	6.96%	2.83%
Belden	8.35%	22.28%	8.23%

Does the media refer more to AVT or BDC?

In the previous week, Belden had 4 more articles in the media than Avnet. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Belden and 6 mentions for Avnet. Avnet's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat Belden's score of 0.81 indicating that Avnet is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Avnet	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Belden	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer AVT or BDC?

Avnet presently has a consensus target price of $49.00, indicating a potential downside of 8.41%. Belden has a consensus target price of $132.75, indicating a potential upside of 3.39%. Given Belden's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Belden is more favorable than Avnet.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avnet	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.50
Belden	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is AVT or BDC a better dividend stock?

Avnet pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Belden pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Avnet pays out 37.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Belden pays out 3.9% 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. Avnet has increased its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Avnet is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, AVT or BDC?

Avnet has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Belden has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, AVT or BDC?

Avnet has higher revenue and earnings than Belden. Avnet is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Belden, 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
Avnet	$22.15B	0.20	$498.70M	$3.57	14.99
Belden	$2.55B	1.99	$198.43M	$5.18	24.79

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in AVT or BDC?

95.8% of Avnet shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Belden shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Avnet shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Belden shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Belden beats Avnet on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.