STERIS (STE) Competitors

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

Does the MarketBeat Community favor BDX or STE?

Becton, Dickinson and Company received 261 more outperform votes than STERIS when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 62.03% of users gave Becton, Dickinson and Company an outperform vote while only 59.38% of users gave STERIS an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Becton, Dickinson and Company	Outperform Votes 606 62.03%	Underperform Votes 371 37.97%
STERIS	Outperform Votes 345 59.38%	Underperform Votes 236 40.62%

Which has better earnings and valuation, BDX or STE?

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
Becton, Dickinson and Company	$20.87B	2.37	$1.71B	$5.24	32.93
STERIS	$5.46B	4.41	$378.24M	$6.20	39.53

Is BDX or STE 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
Becton, Dickinson and Company	8.47%	15.74%	7.29%
STERIS	8.66%	13.91%	8.64%

Does the media refer more to BDX or STE?

In the previous week, Becton, Dickinson and Company had 2 more articles in the media than STERIS. MarketBeat recorded 30 mentions for Becton, Dickinson and Company and 28 mentions for STERIS. STERIS's average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat Becton, Dickinson and Company's score of 1.09 indicating that STERIS is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Becton, Dickinson and Company	23 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
STERIS	18 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of BDX or STE?

87.0% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.7% of STERIS shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of STERIS shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, BDX or STE?

Becton, Dickinson and Company has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, STERIS has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend BDX or STE?

Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus target price of $221.44, indicating a potential upside of 28.35%. STERIS has a consensus target price of $263.83, indicating a potential upside of 7.65%. Given Becton, Dickinson and Company's higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Becton, Dickinson and Company is more favorable than STERIS.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Becton, Dickinson and Company	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.36
STERIS	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63

Is BDX or STE a better dividend stock?

Becton, Dickinson and Company pays an annual dividend of $4.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. STERIS pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Becton, Dickinson and Company pays out 79.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. STERIS pays out 36.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Becton, Dickinson and Company has raised its dividend for 53 consecutive years and STERIS has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years. Becton, Dickinson and Company is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

STERIS beats Becton, Dickinson and Company on 12 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.