Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) Competitors

Cooper Companies (NASDAQ:COO) and Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and risk.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in COO or BDX?

24.4% of Cooper Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.0% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Cooper Companies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, COO or BDX?

Cooper Companies has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a beta of 0.25, suggesting that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better valuation and earnings, COO or BDX?

Becton, Dickinson and Company has higher revenue and earnings than Cooper Companies. Cooper Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Becton, Dickinson and Company, 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
Cooper Companies	$3.90B	3.59	$392.30M	$2.03	34.61
Becton, Dickinson and Company	$20.18B	2.75	$1.71B	$5.56	34.87

Do analysts prefer COO or BDX?

Cooper Companies presently has a consensus price target of $84.75, indicating a potential upside of 20.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus price target of $205.40, indicating a potential upside of 5.96%. Given Cooper Companies' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cooper Companies is more favorable than Becton, Dickinson and Company.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cooper Companies	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71
Becton, Dickinson and Company	0 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Is COO or BDX more profitable?

Cooper Companies has a net margin of 10.08% compared to Becton, Dickinson and Company's net margin of 7.51%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's return on equity of 16.23% beat Cooper Companies' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cooper Companies	10.08%	9.82%	6.54%
Becton, Dickinson and Company	7.51%	16.23%	7.46%

Does the media refer more to COO or BDX?

In the previous week, Becton, Dickinson and Company had 19 more articles in the media than Cooper Companies. MarketBeat recorded 29 mentions for Becton, Dickinson and Company and 10 mentions for Cooper Companies. Becton, Dickinson and Company's average media sentiment score of 1.59 beat Cooper Companies' score of 0.56 indicating that Becton, Dickinson and Company is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cooper Companies	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Becton, Dickinson and Company	27 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Summary

Becton, Dickinson and Company beats Cooper Companies on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.