General Cable (BGC) Competitors

General Cable (NYSE:BGC) and Acuity (NYSE:AYI) are both mid-cap electrical components & equipment companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Which has better earnings & valuation, BGC or AYI?

Acuity has higher revenue and earnings than General Cable. Acuity is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than General Cable, 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
General Cable	$2.03B	2.41	$36.26M	$0.07	141.14
Acuity	$3.84B	2.36	$422.60M	$12.69	23.32

Does the media favor BGC or AYI?

In the previous week, Acuity had 7 more articles in the media than General Cable. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Acuity and 0 mentions for General Cable. Acuity's average media sentiment score of 1.28 beat General Cable's score of 0.00 indicating that Acuity is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
General Cable	Neutral
Acuity	Positive

Is BGC or AYI more profitable?

Acuity has a net margin of 9.63% compared to General Cable's net margin of 1.74%. General Cable's return on equity of 48.53% beat Acuity's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
General Cable	1.74%	48.53%	10.49%
Acuity	9.63%	20.35%	11.98%

Do analysts recommend BGC or AYI?

General Cable currently has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 41.70%. Acuity has a consensus price target of $340.60, suggesting a potential upside of 15.11%. Given General Cable's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe General Cable is more favorable than Acuity.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
General Cable	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Acuity	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Do insiders & institutionals believe in BGC or AYI?

52.1% of General Cable shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.2% of Acuity shares are held by institutional investors. 47.9% of General Cable shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Acuity shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is BGC or AYI a better dividend stock?

General Cable pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Acuity pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. General Cable pays out 57.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Acuity pays out 5.4% 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. General Cable has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Acuity has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Which has more risk & volatility, BGC or AYI?

General Cable has a beta of 1.51, meaning that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acuity has a beta of 1.62, meaning that its share price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Acuity beats General Cable on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.