ADT (ADT) and Its Competitors Head to Head Review

ADT (NYSE:ADT) is one of 41 publicly-traded companies in the “PROTECTION – SFTY” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare ADT to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.2% of ADT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.0% of shares of all “PROTECTION – SFTY” companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of ADT shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.6% of shares of all “PROTECTION – SFTY” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares ADT and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ADT	11.03%	17.23%	4.07%
ADT Competitors	-27.92%	-107.74%	-10.15%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ADT and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
ADT	$4.90 billion	$501.05 million	14.54
ADT Competitors	$1.23 billion	$110.42 million	43.83

ADT has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. ADT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

ADT pays an annual dividend of $0.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. ADT pays out 37.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “PROTECTION – SFTY” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.7% and pay out 44.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. ADT has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. ADT is clearly a better dividend stock than its competitors, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk & Volatility

ADT has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ADT’s competitors have a beta of 8.85, meaning that their average stock price is 785% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for ADT and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ADT	0	3	1	0	2.25
ADT Competitors	343	643	1058	62	2.40

ADT currently has a consensus target price of $9.05, indicating a potential upside of 7.29%. As a group, “PROTECTION – SFTY” companies have a potential upside of 15.50%. Given ADT’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ADT has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

ADT beats its competitors on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

About ADT

ADT Inc. provides security, interactive, and smart home solutions to residential and small business customers in the United States. It operates through two segments, Consumer and Small Business, and Solar. The company provides burglar and life safety alarms, smart security cameras, smart home automation systems, and video surveillance systems. It primarily offers security designed to detect intrusion, control access, sense movement, smoke, fire, carbon monoxide, flooding, temperature, and other environmental conditions and hazards; and address personal medical emergencies, such as injuries or unanticipated falls. The company also provides automation and smart home solutions that allow customers to use their smart phones, smart phone application, or touchscreen panels in their homes to arm and disarm their security systems; record and view real-time video; and creates customized and automated schedules for connected devices; programs systems to react to defined events; integrates system with third-party connected devices, such as cameras, lights, thermostats, appliances, and garage doors, as well as offers monitoring and maintenance services. In addition, the company offers energy storage solutions, energy efficiency upgrades, and roofing services. It offers its products under the ADT, ADT Pulse, ADT+, and ADT Commercial brand names. The company was formerly known as Prime Security Services Parent, Inc. and changed its name to ADT Inc. in September 2017. ADT Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.