South32 (S32) Competitors

Anglo American (LON:AAL) and South32 (LON:S32) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and media sentiment.

Is AAL or S32 more profitable?

South32 has a net margin of 1.66% compared to Anglo American's net margin of -5.61%. South32's return on equity of 0.58% beat Anglo American's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Anglo American	-5.61%	-6.72%	5.94%
South32	1.66%	0.58%	0.23%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, AAL or S32?

South32 has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Anglo American. Anglo American is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than South32, 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
Anglo American	£36.94B	0.90	-£2.07B	-£108.60	-20.08
South32	£6.03B	1.32	£100.01M	£1.42	99.07

Do insiders & institutionals believe in AAL or S32?

73.7% of Anglo American shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.5% of South32 shares are held by institutional investors. 9.8% of Anglo American shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of South32 shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is AAL or S32 a better dividend stock?

Anglo American pays an annual dividend of GBX 65 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. South32 pays an annual dividend of GBX 3 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Anglo American pays out -59.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. South32 pays out 210.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Anglo American is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts recommend AAL or S32?

Anglo American presently has a consensus target price of GBX 2,156, indicating a potential downside of 1.13%. South32 has a consensus target price of GBX 206.67, indicating a potential upside of 46.57%. Given South32's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe South32 is more favorable than Anglo American.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Anglo American	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
South32	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the media prefer AAL or S32?

In the previous week, South32 had 4 more articles in the media than Anglo American. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for South32 and 1 mentions for Anglo American. South32's average media sentiment score of -0.13 beat Anglo American's score of -0.36 indicating that South32 is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Anglo American	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
South32	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more risk and volatility, AAL or S32?

Anglo American has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, South32 has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

South32 beats Anglo American on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.