STERIS (STE) Competitors

STERIS (NYSE:STE) and IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in STE or IDXX?

94.7% of STERIS shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.8% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of STERIS shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of IDEXX Laboratories 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.

Do analysts recommend STE or IDXX?

STERIS presently has a consensus price target of $273.50, indicating a potential upside of 12.22%. IDEXX Laboratories has a consensus price target of $644.67, indicating a potential downside of 1.17%. Given STERIS's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe STERIS is more favorable than IDEXX Laboratories.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
STERIS	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
IDEXX Laboratories	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Does the media refer more to STE or IDXX?

In the previous week, STERIS had 9 more articles in the media than IDEXX Laboratories. MarketBeat recorded 52 mentions for STERIS and 43 mentions for IDEXX Laboratories. IDEXX Laboratories' average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat STERIS's score of 0.72 indicating that IDEXX Laboratories is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
STERIS	19 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
IDEXX Laboratories	26 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is STE or IDXX more profitable?

IDEXX Laboratories has a net margin of 24.41% compared to STERIS's net margin of 11.61%. IDEXX Laboratories' return on equity of 64.42% beat STERIS's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
STERIS	11.61%	14.17%	9.25%
IDEXX Laboratories	24.41%	64.42%	29.89%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, STE or IDXX?

IDEXX Laboratories has lower revenue, but higher earnings than STERIS. STERIS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than IDEXX Laboratories, 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
STERIS	$5.46B	4.40	$614.64M	$6.53	37.32
IDEXX Laboratories	$3.90B	13.39	$887.87M	$12.01	54.31

Which has more volatility & risk, STE or IDXX?

STERIS has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, IDEXX Laboratories has a beta of 1.49, suggesting that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

IDEXX Laboratories beats STERIS on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.