STERIS (STE) Competitors

STERIS (NYSE:STE) and Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation, dividends and community ranking.

Which has more risk and volatility, STE or BDX?

STERIS has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is STE or BDX a better dividend stock?

STERIS pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Becton, Dickinson and Company pays an annual dividend of $4.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. STERIS pays out 48.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Becton, Dickinson and Company pays out 69.1% 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. STERIS has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years and Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years. Becton, Dickinson and Company is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is STE or BDX more profitable?

STERIS has a net margin of 8.66% compared to Becton, Dickinson and Company's net margin of 8.47%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's return on equity of 15.74% beat STERIS's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
STERIS	8.66%	13.91%	8.64%
Becton, Dickinson and Company	8.47%	15.74%	7.29%

Does the media prefer STE or BDX?

In the previous week, Becton, Dickinson and Company had 34 more articles in the media than STERIS. MarketBeat recorded 48 mentions for Becton, Dickinson and Company and 14 mentions for STERIS. Becton, Dickinson and Company's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat STERIS's score of 1.40 indicating that Becton, Dickinson and Company is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
STERIS	11 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Becton, Dickinson and Company	42 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, STE or BDX?

Becton, Dickinson and Company has higher revenue and earnings than STERIS. Becton, Dickinson and Company is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than STERIS, 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
STERIS	$5.14B	4.21	$378.24M	$4.71	46.80
Becton, Dickinson and Company	$20.18B	3.24	$1.71B	$6.02	37.80

Does the MarketBeat Community favor STE or BDX?

Becton, Dickinson and Company received 262 more outperform votes than STERIS when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 62.43% of users gave Becton, Dickinson and Company an outperform vote while only 59.19% of users gave STERIS an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
STERIS	Outperform Votes 338 59.19%	Underperform Votes 233 40.81%
Becton, Dickinson and Company	Outperform Votes 600 62.43%	Underperform Votes 361 37.57%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in STE or BDX?

94.7% of STERIS shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.0% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of STERIS shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.

Do analysts prefer STE or BDX?

STERIS presently has a consensus price target of $258.75, indicating a potential upside of 17.38%. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus price target of $278.29, indicating a potential upside of 22.30%. Given Becton, Dickinson and Company's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Becton, Dickinson and Company is more favorable than STERIS.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
STERIS	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Becton, Dickinson and Company	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Becton, Dickinson and Company beats STERIS on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.