AT&T (T) Competitors

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

Do institutionals & insiders believe in AAPL or T?

67.7% of Apple shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.1% of AT&T shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Apple shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of AT&T shares are held 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.

Is AAPL or T a better dividend stock?

Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. AT&T pays an annual dividend of $1.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Apple pays out 16.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AT&T pays out 68.1% 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.

Which has more risk and volatility, AAPL or T?

Apple has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AT&T has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation & 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	8.07	$93.74B	$6.42	32.89
AT&T	$122.93B	1.58	$10.95B	$1.63	16.52

Does the media prefer AAPL or T?

In the previous week, Apple had 200 more articles in the media than AT&T. MarketBeat recorded 271 mentions for Apple and 71 mentions for AT&T. Apple's average media sentiment score of 0.89 beat AT&T's score of 0.88 indicating that Apple is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Apple	160 Very Positive mention(s)	21 Positive mention(s)	64 Neutral mention(s)	21 Negative mention(s)	4 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AT&T	48 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AAPL or T more profitable?

Apple has a net margin of 24.30% compared to AT&T's net margin of 9.64%. Apple's return on equity of 167.24% beat AT&T's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apple	24.30%	167.24%	31.35%
AT&T	9.64%	13.63%	4.08%

Do analysts recommend AAPL or T?

Apple currently has a consensus price target of $235.11, suggesting a potential upside of 11.33%. AT&T has a consensus price target of $29.17, suggesting a potential upside of 8.35%. Given Apple's higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Apple is more favorable than AT&T.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.58
AT&T	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.72

Summary

Apple beats AT&T on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.