Universal (UVV) Competitors

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) and Universal (NYSE:UVV) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, community ranking, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings and profitability.

Which has more volatility and risk, PM or UVV?

Philip Morris International has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is PM or UVV a better dividend stock?

Philip Morris International pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Universal pays an annual dividend of $3.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Philip Morris International pays out 111.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Universal pays out 64.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Philip Morris International has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years and Universal has raised its dividend for 55 consecutive years. Universal is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, PM or UVV?

Philip Morris International has higher revenue and earnings than Universal. Universal is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Philip Morris International, 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
Philip Morris International	$38.39B	7.23	$7.06B	$4.85	36.75
Universal	$3.02B	0.49	$119.60M	$5.02	11.80

Does the media favor PM or UVV?

In the previous week, Philip Morris International had 9 more articles in the media than Universal. MarketBeat recorded 39 mentions for Philip Morris International and 30 mentions for Universal. Philip Morris International's average media sentiment score of 1.36 beat Universal's score of 0.64 indicating that Philip Morris International is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Philip Morris International	32 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Universal	9 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer PM or UVV?

Philip Morris International currently has a consensus price target of $169.20, suggesting a potential downside of 5.06%. Given Philip Morris International's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Philip Morris International is more favorable than Universal.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Philip Morris International	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.91
Universal	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in PM or UVV?

78.6% of Philip Morris International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.0% of Universal shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Philip Morris International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Universal shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in PM or UVV?

Philip Morris International received 634 more outperform votes than Universal when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 58.33% of users gave Universal an outperform vote while only 58.04% of users gave Philip Morris International an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Philip Morris International	Outperform Votes 816 58.04%	Underperform Votes 590 41.96%
Universal	Outperform Votes 182 58.33%	Underperform Votes 130 41.67%

Is PM or UVV more profitable?

Philip Morris International has a net margin of 7.89% compared to Universal's net margin of 4.31%. Universal's return on equity of 8.92% beat Philip Morris International's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Philip Morris International	7.89%	-120.08%	15.76%
Universal	4.31%	8.92%	4.43%

Summary

Philip Morris International beats Universal on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.