Head to Head Survey: PLDT (PHI) and Its Peers

PLDT (NYSE:PHI) is one of 203 public companies in the “Diversified Telecommunication Services” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare PLDT to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation and risk.

Dividends

PLDT pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. PLDT pays out 48.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Diversified Telecommunication Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 13.7% and pay out 33.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. PLDT lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

2.3% of PLDT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.8% of shares of all “Diversified Telecommunication Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of PLDT shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.3% of shares of all “Diversified Telecommunication Services” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares PLDT and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PLDT	12.81%	26.76%	5.36%
PLDT Competitors	-10.13%	-215.82%	-3.42%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares PLDT and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
PLDT	$220.89 billion	$498.72 million	7.55
PLDT Competitors	$1,923.08 billion	$893.66 million	-168.64

PLDT’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than PLDT. PLDT is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for PLDT and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PLDT	0	4	0	0	2.00
PLDT Competitors	1762	5368	7771	385	2.44

As a group, “Diversified Telecommunication Services” companies have a potential upside of 21.72%. Given PLDT’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe PLDT has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Volatility & Risk

PLDT has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PLDT’s peers have a beta of -4.90, meaning that their average share price is 590% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

PLDT peers beat PLDT on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

PLDT Company Profile

PLDT Inc. is a telecommunications and digital services provider based in the Philippines. Founded in 1928, the company operates an integrated network serving residential, business and government customers across the country. Its services include mobile voice and data through its Smart brand, fixed-line telephony, home broadband and enterprise connectivity. Through its business units and subsidiaries, PLDT also provides information and communications technology services, cloud and data-center solutions, and other digital services.