Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) and Vector Group (NYSE:VGR) are both mid-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings and risk.
Risk & Volatility
Service Co. International has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vector Group has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Service Co. International and Vector Group's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Service Co. International | $3.23 billion | 2.50 | $369.60 million | $1.90 | 25.14 |
Vector Group | $1.90 billion | 1.10 | $100.97 million | $0.70 | 19.50 |
Service Co. International has higher revenue and earnings than Vector Group. Vector Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Service Co. International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
83.4% of Service Co. International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.3% of Vector Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.7% of Service Co. International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.5% of Vector Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Service Co. International and Vector Group's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Service Co. International | 13.62% | 24.63% | 3.24% |
Vector Group | 3.78% | -18.24% | 8.35% |
Dividends
Service Co. International pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Vector Group pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Service Co. International pays out 44.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Vector Group pays out 114.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Service Co. International has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Service Co. International and Vector Group, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Service Co. International | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3.00 |
Vector Group | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Service Co. International currently has a consensus price target of $48.80, indicating a potential upside of 2.18%. Vector Group has a consensus price target of $11.00, indicating a potential downside of 19.41%. Given Service Co. International's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Service Co. International is more favorable than Vector Group.
Summary
Service Co. International beats Vector Group on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.