AT&T (T) Competitors

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and AT&T (NYSE:T) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, media sentiment, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Is AAPL or T a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. AT&T pays an annual dividend of $1.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Apple pays out 15.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AT&T pays out 63.1% 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. Apple has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Does the media refer more to AAPL or T?

In the previous week, Apple had 215 more articles in the media than AT&T. MarketBeat recorded 268 mentions for Apple and 53 mentions for AT&T. AT&T's average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat Apple's score of 1.06 indicating that AT&T is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	189 Very Positive mention(s)	23 Positive mention(s)	35 Neutral mention(s)	13 Negative mention(s)	6 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AT&T	36 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals believe in AAPL or T?

67.7% of Apple shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.1% of AT&T shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Apple shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of AT&T shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, AAPL or T?

Apple has higher revenue and earnings than AT&T. AT&T is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Apple, 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
Apple	$391.04B	9.05	$93.74B	$6.59	36.19
AT&T	$123.98B	1.67	$10.95B	$1.76	16.49

Do analysts prefer AAPL or T?

Apple presently has a consensus target price of $237.73, suggesting a potential downside of 0.31%. AT&T has a consensus target price of $30.40, suggesting a potential upside of 4.75%. Given AT&T's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe AT&T is more favorable than Apple.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
AT&T	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Is AAPL or T more profitable?

Apple has a net margin of 24.30% compared to AT&T's net margin of 10.29%. Apple's return on equity of 170.91% beat AT&T's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%
AT&T	10.29%	13.36%	3.99%

Which has more risk & volatility, AAPL or T?

Apple has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AT&T has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Apple beats AT&T on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.