HP (HPQ) Competitors

HP (NYSE:HPQ) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Is HPQ or AAPL a better dividend stock?

HP pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. HP pays out 44.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Apple pays out 15.8% 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. HP has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years and Apple has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. HP is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, HPQ or AAPL?

HP has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apple has a beta of 1.16, indicating that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in HPQ or AAPL?

77.5% of HP shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of Apple shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of HP shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Apple shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is HPQ or AAPL more profitable?

Apple has a net margin of 24.30% compared to HP's net margin of 4.64%. Apple's return on equity of 170.91% beat HP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HP	4.64%	-244.99%	7.97%
Apple	24.30%	170.91%	31.94%

Which has better earnings & valuation, HPQ or AAPL?

Apple has higher revenue and earnings than HP. HP is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Apple, 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	0.44	$2.78B	$2.59	9.67
Apple	$391.04B	8.09	$93.74B	$6.59	32.34

Do analysts recommend HPQ or AAPL?

HP presently has a consensus target price of $29.54, suggesting a potential upside of 18.01%. Apple has a consensus target price of $237.25, suggesting a potential upside of 11.32%. Given HP's higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe HP is more favorable than Apple.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HP	1 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.07
Apple	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57

Does the media refer more to HPQ or AAPL?

In the previous week, Apple had 393 more articles in the media than HP. MarketBeat recorded 418 mentions for Apple and 25 mentions for HP. HP's average media sentiment score of 1.42 beat Apple's score of 0.85 indicating that HP is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
HP	22 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Apple	206 Very Positive mention(s)	68 Positive mention(s)	92 Neutral mention(s)	26 Negative mention(s)	3 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Apple beats HP on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.