Universal (UVV) Competitors

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM) and Universal (NYSE:UVV) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and media sentiment.

Is PM or UVV more profitable?

Philip Morris International has a net margin of 9.03% compared to Universal's net margin of 3.22%. Universal's return on equity of 7.89% beat Philip Morris International's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Philip Morris International	9.03%	-120.86%	16.83%
Universal	3.22%	7.89%	3.84%

Which has more volatility and risk, PM or UVV?

Philip Morris International has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in PM or UVV?

78.6% of Philip Morris International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.0% of Universal shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Philip Morris International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Universal shares are held by 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 recommend PM or UVV?

Philip Morris International presently has a consensus target price of $186.27, indicating a potential upside of 11.54%. Given Philip Morris International's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Philip Morris International is more favorable than Universal.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Philip Morris International	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.92
Universal	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, PM or UVV?

Philip Morris International has higher revenue and earnings than Universal. Universal is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Philip Morris International, 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
Philip Morris International	$89.44B	2.91	$7.06B	$5.26	31.75
Universal	$2.95B	0.46	$95.05M	$3.78	14.42

Is PM or UVV a better dividend stock?

Philip Morris International pays an annual dividend of $5.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Universal pays an annual dividend of $3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Philip Morris International pays out 102.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Universal pays out 86.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Philip Morris International has raised its dividend for 17 consecutive years and Universal has raised its dividend for 56 consecutive years. Universal is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media prefer PM or UVV?

In the previous week, Philip Morris International had 32 more articles in the media than Universal. MarketBeat recorded 55 mentions for Philip Morris International and 23 mentions for Universal. Philip Morris International's average media sentiment score of 1.37 beat Universal's score of 0.80 indicating that Philip Morris International is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Philip Morris International	46 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Universal	8 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Philip Morris International beats Universal on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.