Critical Survey: Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) and Brainsway (NASDAQ:BWAY)

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) and Brainsway (NASDAQ:BWAY) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Becton, Dickinson and Company and Brainsway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Becton, Dickinson and Company	4.52%	14.79%	6.93%
Brainsway	15.65%	12.74%	8.17%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Becton, Dickinson and Company and Brainsway, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Becton, Dickinson and Company	1	8	8	1	2.50
Brainsway	0	2	5	0	2.71

Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus price target of $197.47, suggesting a potential downside of 7.00%. Brainsway has a consensus price target of $18.20, suggesting a potential upside of 68.44%. Given Brainsway’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Brainsway is more favorable than Becton, Dickinson and Company.

Risk and Volatility

Becton, Dickinson and Company has a beta of 0.22, meaning that its share price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brainsway has a beta of 1.36, meaning that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.0% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.1% of Brainsway shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.0% of Brainsway shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Becton, Dickinson and Company and Brainsway”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Becton, Dickinson and Company	$21.84 billion	2.68	$1.68 billion	$4.14	51.29
Brainsway	$52.22 million	8.33	$7.57 million	$0.44	24.56

Becton, Dickinson and Company has higher revenue and earnings than Brainsway. Brainsway is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Becton, Dickinson and Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Becton, Dickinson and Company beats Brainsway on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional. The BD Medical segment provides peripheral intravenous (IV) and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular access technology, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detections, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes, and sharps disposal systems; IV medication safety and infusion therapy delivery systems, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing and supply management systems, and medication inventory optimization and tracking systems; and prefillable drug delivery systems. The BD Life Sciences segment offers specimen and blood collection products; automated blood and tuberculosis culturing, molecular testing, microorganism identification and drug susceptibility, and liquid-based cytology systems, as well as rapid diagnostic assays, microbiology laboratory automation products, and plated media products; and fluorescence-activated cell sorters and analyzers, antibodies and kits, reagent systems, and solutions for single-cell gene expression analysis, as well as clinical oncology, immunological, and transplantation diagnostic/monitoring reagents and analyzers. The BD Interventional segment provides hernia and soft tissue repair, biological and bioresorbable grafts, biosurgery, and other surgical products; surgical infection prevention; peripheral intervention products; and urology and critical care products. The company was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

About Brainsway

BrainsWay Ltd. develops and sells noninvasive neurostimulation treatments for mental health disorders in the United States and internationally. It offers Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation platform technology for the treatment of major depressive disorders, anxious depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, smoking addiction, bipolar disorders, post traumatic stress disorders, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, autism, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, post stroke rehabilitation, and Parkinson's diseases. The company serves doctors, hospitals, and medical centers in the field of psychiatry. BrainsWay Ltd. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel.