Haleon (HLN) Competitors

Smith & Nephew (LON:SN) and Haleon (LON:HLN) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, risk, dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership and valuation.

Which has more volatility & risk, SN or HLN?

Smith & Nephew has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Haleon has a beta of 0.19, suggesting that its share price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in SN or HLN?

62.2% of Smith & Nephew shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.9% of Haleon shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Smith & Nephew shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.7% of Haleon shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, SN or HLN?

Haleon has higher revenue and earnings than Smith & Nephew. Haleon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Smith & Nephew, 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
Smith & Nephew	£7.08B	2.09	£382.79M	£27.77	48.71
Haleon	£11.07B	2.92	£1.07B	£11.89	30.10

Does the media favor SN or HLN?

In the previous week, Smith & Nephew had 5 more articles in the media than Haleon. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Smith & Nephew and 4 mentions for Haleon. Smith & Nephew's average media sentiment score of 0.59 beat Haleon's score of -0.17 indicating that Smith & Nephew is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Smith & Nephew	2 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Haleon	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer SN or HLN?

Smith & Nephew presently has a consensus price target of GBX 1,379.33, indicating a potential upside of 1.95%. Haleon has a consensus price target of GBX 435, indicating a potential upside of 21.54%. Given Haleon's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Haleon is more favorable than Smith & Nephew.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smith & Nephew	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Haleon	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is SN or HLN more profitable?

Haleon has a net margin of 9.66% compared to Smith & Nephew's net margin of 5.41%. Haleon's return on equity of 6.54% beat Smith & Nephew's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smith & Nephew	5.41%	5.85%	4.51%
Haleon	9.66%	6.54%	4.45%

Is SN or HLN a better dividend stock?

Smith & Nephew pays an annual dividend of GBX 29 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Haleon pays an annual dividend of GBX 6 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Smith & Nephew pays out 104.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Haleon pays out 50.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Smith & Nephew beats Haleon on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.