Xylem (XYL) Competitors

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

Is XYL or DCI more profitable?

Xylem has a net margin of 10.54% compared to Donaldson's net margin of 9.94%. Donaldson's return on equity of 28.86% beat Xylem's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xylem	10.54%	10.12%	6.62%
Donaldson	9.94%	28.86%	14.63%

Do analysts rate XYL or DCI?

Xylem presently has a consensus price target of $143.71, indicating a potential upside of 8.45%. Donaldson has a consensus price target of $70.00, indicating a potential downside of 2.73%. Given Xylem's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Xylem is more favorable than Donaldson.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xylem	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Donaldson	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the media favor XYL or DCI?

In the previous week, Xylem had 6 more articles in the media than Donaldson. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Xylem and 9 mentions for Donaldson. Xylem's average media sentiment score of 1.41 beat Donaldson's score of 0.76 indicating that Xylem is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Xylem	13 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Donaldson	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is XYL or DCI a better dividend stock?

Xylem pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Donaldson pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Xylem pays out 43.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Donaldson pays out 40.3% 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. Xylem has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Donaldson has raised its dividend for 38 consecutive years. Donaldson is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, XYL or DCI?

Xylem has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Donaldson has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, XYL or DCI?

Xylem has higher revenue and earnings than Donaldson. Donaldson 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
Xylem	$8.56B	3.77	$890M	$3.72	35.62
Donaldson	$3.59B	2.34	$414M	$2.98	24.15

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

88.0% of Xylem shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.8% of Donaldson shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Xylem shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Donaldson shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Xylem beats Donaldson on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.