3M (MMM) Competitors

General Electric (NYSE:GE) and 3M (NYSE:MMM) are both large-cap transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, community ranking, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Which has better valuation & earnings, GE or MMM?

General Electric has higher revenue and earnings than 3M. 3M is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than General Electric, 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 Electric	$38.70B	5.88	$6.56B	$5.99	35.42
3M	$24.58B	3.42	$4.17B	$7.55	20.48

Is GE or MMM more profitable?

3M has a net margin of 15.71% compared to General Electric's net margin of 14.31%. 3M's return on equity of 100.77% beat General Electric's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
General Electric	14.31%	22.19%	3.66%
3M	15.71%	100.77%	9.84%

Is GE or MMM a better dividend stock?

General Electric pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. 3M pays an annual dividend of $2.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. General Electric pays out 24.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 3M pays out 38.7% 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.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in GE or MMM?

General Electric received 1224 more outperform votes than 3M when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 75.40% of users gave General Electric an outperform vote while only 59.41% of users gave 3M an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
General Electric	Outperform Votes 2133 75.40%	Underperform Votes 696 24.60%
3M	Outperform Votes 909 59.41%	Underperform Votes 621 40.59%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in GE or MMM?

74.8% of General Electric shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.3% of 3M shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of General Electric shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of 3M shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor GE or MMM?

In the previous week, General Electric had 4 more articles in the media than 3M. MarketBeat recorded 41 mentions for General Electric and 37 mentions for 3M. 3M's average media sentiment score of 1.41 beat General Electric's score of 1.36 indicating that 3M is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
General Electric	38 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
3M	28 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate GE or MMM?

General Electric currently has a consensus price target of $211.31, suggesting a potential downside of 0.39%. 3M has a consensus price target of $149.13, suggesting a potential downside of 3.54%. Given General Electric's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe General Electric is more favorable than 3M.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
General Electric	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.94
3M	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63

Which has more volatility and risk, GE or MMM?

General Electric has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 3M has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

General Electric beats 3M on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.