Analyzing Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) & Smith & Nephew SNATS (NYSE:SNN)

Smith & Nephew SNATS (NYSE:SNN) and Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Smith & Nephew SNATS and Agilent Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smith & Nephew SNATS	N/A	N/A	N/A
Agilent Technologies	18.26%	24.49%	12.83%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Smith & Nephew SNATS and Agilent Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smith & Nephew SNATS	0	4	0	1	2.40
Agilent Technologies	0	2	11	2	3.00

Smith & Nephew SNATS currently has a consensus target price of $34.75, suggesting a potential upside of 16.21%. Agilent Technologies has a consensus target price of $163.71, suggesting a potential upside of 41.72%. Given Agilent Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Agilent Technologies is more favorable than Smith & Nephew SNATS.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

25.6% of Smith & Nephew SNATS shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Smith & Nephew SNATS shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Smith & Nephew SNATS has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Agilent Technologies has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Smith & Nephew SNATS and Agilent Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smith & Nephew SNATS	$6.16 billion	2.07	$625.00 million	N/A	N/A
Agilent Technologies	$6.95 billion	4.70	$1.30 billion	$4.53	25.50

Agilent Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Smith & Nephew SNATS.

Dividends

Smith & Nephew SNATS pays an annual dividend of $0.93 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Agilent Technologies pays an annual dividend of $1.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies pays out 22.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Agilent Technologies has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Summary

Agilent Technologies beats Smith & Nephew SNATS on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Smith & Nephew SNATS

Smith & Nephew plc engages in the development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of medical devices. It operates through the following segments: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine and ENT, and Advanced Wound Management. The Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and ENT segment consists of the following businesses: knee implants, hip implants, other reconstruction, trauma, sports medicine joint repair, arthroscopic enabling technologies, and ENT. The Advanced Wound Management segment includes advanced wound care, advanced wound bioactives, and advanced wound devices businesses. The company was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Watford, the United Kingdom.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc. provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies. The Diagnostics and Genomics segment focuses on genomics, nucleic acid contract manufacturing and research and development, pathology, companion diagnostics, reagent partnership, and biomolecular analysis businesses. The Agilent CrossLab segment provides GC and LC columns, sample preparation products, custom chemistries, and laboratory instrument supplies; and offers services portfolio, including repairs, parts, maintenance, installations, training, compliance support, software as a service, asset management, and consulting services. The company markets its products through direct sales, distributors, resellers, manufacturer’s representatives, and electronic commerce. Agilent Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.