Xylem (XYL) Competitors

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

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Xylem shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer NDSN or XYL?

In the previous week, Xylem had 3 more articles in the media than Nordson. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Xylem and 12 mentions for Nordson. Xylem's average media sentiment score of 1.43 beat Nordson's score of 1.33 indicating that Xylem is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Nordson	8 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Xylem	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer NDSN or XYL?

Nordson currently has a consensus price target of $254.86, suggesting a potential upside of 17.41%. Xylem has a consensus price target of $146.29, suggesting a potential upside of 10.25%. Given Nordson's higher possible upside, equities research 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 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%

Which has more risk & volatility, NDSN or XYL?

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

Which has better earnings & valuation, 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	4.56	$467.28M	$7.78	27.90
Xylem	$8.56B	3.77	$890M	$3.72	35.67

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 raised its dividend for 62 consecutive years and Xylem has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Nordson is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Nordson beats Xylem on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.