AT&T (T) Competitors

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and AT&T (NYSE:T) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, community ranking, media sentiment, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Is VZ or T more profitable?

AT&T has a net margin of 7.42% compared to Verizon Communications' net margin of 7.30%. Verizon Communications' return on equity of 20.05% beat AT&T's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Verizon Communications	7.30%	20.05%	5.07%
AT&T	7.42%	13.97%	4.12%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor VZ or T?

AT&T received 327 more outperform votes than Verizon Communications when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 68.04% of users gave AT&T an outperform vote while only 58.92% of users gave Verizon Communications an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Verizon Communications	Outperform Votes 1123 58.92%	Underperform Votes 783 41.08%
AT&T	Outperform Votes 1450 68.04%	Underperform Votes 681 31.96%

Which has more risk and volatility, VZ or T?

Verizon Communications has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AT&T has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is VZ or T a better dividend stock?

Verizon Communications pays an annual dividend of $2.71 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.7%. AT&T pays an annual dividend of $1.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Verizon Communications pays out 116.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AT&T pays out 90.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Verizon Communications has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years. Verizon Communications is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts rate VZ or T?

Verizon Communications currently has a consensus target price of $46.54, suggesting a potential upside of 15.61%. AT&T has a consensus target price of $25.53, suggesting a potential upside of 12.61%. Given Verizon Communications' higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Verizon Communications is more favorable than AT&T.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Verizon Communications	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.41
AT&T	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68

Which has higher valuation and earnings, VZ or T?

AT&T has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Verizon Communications. Verizon Communications is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AT&T, 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
Verizon Communications	$134.24B	1.26	$11.61B	$2.32	17.35
AT&T	$122.06B	1.33	$14.40B	$1.23	18.43

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in VZ or T?

62.1% of Verizon Communications shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.1% of AT&T shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Verizon Communications shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of AT&T shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to VZ or T?

In the previous week, Verizon Communications had 3 more articles in the media than AT&T. MarketBeat recorded 31 mentions for Verizon Communications and 28 mentions for AT&T. Verizon Communications' average media sentiment score of 0.70 beat AT&T's score of 0.36 indicating that Verizon Communications is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Verizon Communications	15 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AT&T	6 Very Positive mention(s)	9 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

AT&T beats Verizon Communications on 12 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.