Seagate Technology (STX) Competitors

HP (NYSE:HPQ) and Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, community ranking and risk.

Which has better valuation and earnings, HPQ or STX?

HP has higher revenue and earnings than Seagate Technology. HP is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Seagate Technology, 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
HP	$53.56B	0.57	$2.78B	$2.81	11.58
Seagate Technology	$7.27B	2.84	$335M	$3.83	25.50

Do analysts rate HPQ or STX?

HP currently has a consensus target price of $36.23, indicating a potential upside of 11.36%. Seagate Technology has a consensus target price of $120.94, indicating a potential upside of 23.83%. Given Seagate Technology's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Seagate Technology is more favorable than HP.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HP	1 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Seagate Technology	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.56

Does the media prefer HPQ or STX?

In the previous week, Seagate Technology had 6 more articles in the media than HP. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for Seagate Technology and 12 mentions for HP. HP's average media sentiment score of 0.75 beat Seagate Technology's score of 0.46 indicating that HP is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
HP	6 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Seagate Technology	4 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Does the MarketBeat Community favor HPQ or STX?

HP received 305 more outperform votes than Seagate Technology when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 60.61% of users gave HP an outperform vote while only 58.66% of users gave Seagate Technology an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
HP	Outperform Votes 1500 60.61%	Underperform Votes 975 39.39%
Seagate Technology	Outperform Votes 1195 58.66%	Underperform Votes 842 41.34%

Which has more risk and volatility, HPQ or STX?

HP has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seagate Technology has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HPQ or STX more profitable?

Seagate Technology has a net margin of 11.34% compared to HP's net margin of 5.18%. Seagate Technology's return on equity of -32.19% beat HP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HP	5.18%	-253.39%	8.83%
Seagate Technology	11.34%	-32.19%	6.98%

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of HPQ or STX?

77.5% of HP shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.9% of Seagate Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of HP shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Seagate Technology shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is HPQ or STX a better dividend stock?

HP pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Seagate Technology pays an annual dividend of $2.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. HP pays out 41.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Seagate Technology pays out 75.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. HP has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. HP is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Seagate Technology beats HP on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.