Belden (BDC) Competitors

Belden (NYSE:BDC) and Acuity Brands (NYSE:AYI) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment and community ranking.

Does the media prefer BDC or AYI?

In the previous week, Belden had 4 more articles in the media than Acuity Brands. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Belden and 15 mentions for Acuity Brands. Acuity Brands' average media sentiment score of 1.62 beat Belden's score of 1.35 indicating that Acuity Brands is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Belden	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Acuity Brands	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has better earnings & valuation, BDC or AYI?

Acuity Brands has higher revenue and earnings than Belden. Acuity Brands 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
Belden	$2.55B	1.68	$198.43M	$5.18	20.91
Acuity Brands	$3.96B	2.04	$422.60M	$13.19	19.84

Do analysts rate BDC or AYI?

Belden presently has a consensus price target of $126.20, indicating a potential upside of 16.50%. Acuity Brands has a consensus price target of $317.60, indicating a potential upside of 21.34%. Given Acuity Brands' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Acuity Brands is more favorable than Belden.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Belden	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Acuity Brands	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is BDC or AYI a better dividend stock?

Belden pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Acuity Brands pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Belden pays out 3.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Acuity Brands pays out 5.2% 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. Acuity Brands has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Acuity Brands is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, BDC or AYI?

Belden has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acuity Brands has a beta of 1.6, meaning that its share price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in BDC or AYI?

Acuity Brands received 253 more outperform votes than Belden when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 67.67% of users gave Acuity Brands an outperform vote while only 66.62% of users gave Belden an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Belden	Outperform Votes 465 66.62%	Underperform Votes 233 33.38%
Acuity Brands	Outperform Votes 718 67.67%	Underperform Votes 343 32.33%

Is BDC or AYI more profitable?

Acuity Brands has a net margin of 11.11% compared to Belden's net margin of 8.06%. Belden's return on equity of 21.42% beat Acuity Brands' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Belden	8.06%	21.42%	7.90%
Acuity Brands	11.11%	19.98%	12.44%

Do institutionals & insiders believe in BDC or AYI?

98.8% of Belden shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.2% of Acuity Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Belden shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Acuity Brands shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Acuity Brands beats Belden on 14 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.