Universal (UVV) Competitors

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

Which has better earnings and valuation, 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	$37.88B	6.25	$7.06B	$4.51	33.78
Universal	$2.83B	0.47	$119.60M	$4.86	11.04

Is PM or UVV more profitable?

Philip Morris International has a net margin of 7.89% compared to Universal's net margin of 4.31%. Universal's return on equity of 8.92% beat Philip Morris International's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Philip Morris International	7.89%	-120.08%	15.76%
Universal	4.31%	8.92%	4.43%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in PM or UVV?

Philip Morris International received 625 more outperform votes than Universal when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 58.33% of users gave Universal an outperform vote while only 57.81% of users gave Philip Morris International an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Philip Morris International	Outperform Votes 807 57.81%	Underperform Votes 589 42.19%
Universal	Outperform Votes 182 58.33%	Underperform Votes 130 41.67%

Do analysts rate PM or UVV?

Philip Morris International currently has a consensus price target of $144.56, suggesting a potential downside of 5.13%. Given Philip Morris International's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Philip Morris International is more favorable than Universal.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Philip Morris International	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Universal	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Do institutionals and insiders believe in PM or UVV?

78.6% of Philip Morris International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.0% of Universal shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Philip Morris International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Universal shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, PM or UVV?

Philip Morris International has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor PM or UVV?

In the previous week, Philip Morris International had 43 more articles in the media than Universal. MarketBeat recorded 55 mentions for Philip Morris International and 12 mentions for Universal. Philip Morris International's average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat Universal's score of 0.70 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)	5 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Universal	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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 3.5%. Universal pays an annual dividend of $3.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Philip Morris International pays out 119.7% 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 66.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Philip Morris International has increased its dividend for 17 consecutive years and Universal has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years. Universal is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Philip Morris International beats Universal on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.