Xylem (XYL) Competitors

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) and Xylem (NYSE:XYL) are both large-cap industrial machinery companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Does the media prefer NDSN or XYL?

In the previous week, Xylem had 6 more articles in the media than Nordson. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Xylem and 8 mentions for Nordson. Nordson's average media sentiment score of 1.38 beat Xylem's score of 1.29 indicating that Nordson is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Nordson	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Xylem	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend NDSN or XYL?

Nordson currently has a consensus price target of $252.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.12%. Xylem has a consensus price target of $143.71, indicating a potential upside of 9.74%. Given Nordson's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Nordson is more favorable than Xylem.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nordson	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
Xylem	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Is NDSN or XYL a better dividend stock?

Nordson pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Xylem pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nordson pays out 40.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Xylem pays out 43.0% 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. Nordson has increased its dividend for 62 consecutive years and Xylem has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Nordson is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of NDSN or XYL?

72.1% of Nordson shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.0% of Xylem shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Nordson shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Xylem shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, NDSN or XYL?

Xylem has higher revenue and earnings than Nordson. Nordson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Xylem, 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
Nordson	$2.69B	4.64	$467.28M	$7.78	28.38
Xylem	$8.56B	3.72	$890M	$3.72	35.20

Which has more risk & volatility, NDSN or XYL?

Nordson has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xylem has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is NDSN or XYL more profitable?

Nordson has a net margin of 16.51% compared to Xylem's net margin of 10.54%. Nordson's return on equity of 19.10% beat Xylem's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nordson	16.51%	19.10%	9.60%
Xylem	10.54%	10.12%	6.62%

Summary

Nordson beats Xylem on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.