Comparing Sony (NYSE:SONY) & Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL)

Newell Brands (NASDAQ:NWL) and Sony (NYSE:SONY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.5% of Newell Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 14.1% of Sony shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Newell Brands shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 7.0% of Sony shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Newell Brands pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Sony pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Newell Brands pays out -52.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sony pays out 9.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Newell Brands is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Newell Brands and Sony’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Newell Brands	-3.05%	12.31%	2.77%
Sony	-2.00%	13.06%	5.22%

Volatility & Risk

Newell Brands has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sony has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Newell Brands and Sony”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Newell Brands	$7.25 billion	0.36	-$285.00 million	($0.53)	-11.60
Sony	$82.90 billion	1.68	-$2.16 billion	$1.12	21.06

Newell Brands has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Sony. Newell Brands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sony, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Newell Brands and Sony, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Newell Brands	2	4	3	1	2.30
Sony	1	1	4	1	2.71

Newell Brands currently has a consensus target price of $6.66, indicating a potential upside of 8.23%. Sony has a consensus target price of $22.00, indicating a potential downside of 6.72%. Given Newell Brands’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Newell Brands is more favorable than Sony.

Summary

Sony beats Newell Brands on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Newell Brands

Newell Brands Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, sourcing, and distribution of consumer and commercial products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation. The Commercial Solutions segment provides commercial cleaning and maintenance solution products under the Rubbermaid, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Mapa, and Spontex brands; closet and garage organization products; hygiene systems and material handling solutions; household products, such as kitchen appliances under the Crockpot, Mr. Coffee, Oster, and Sunbeam brands; small appliances under the Breville brand name in Europe; food and home storage products under the FoodSaver, Rubbermaid, Ball, and Sistema brands; fresh preserving products; vacuum sealing products; and gourmet cookware, bakeware, and cutlery under the Calphalon brand; and home fragrance products under the WoodWick and Yankee Candle brands. The Learning and Development segment offers writing instruments, including markers and highlighters, pens, and pencils; art products; activity-based products; labeling solutions; and baby gear and infant care products under the Dymo, Elmer's, EXPO, Graco, NUK, Paper Mate, Parker, and Sharpie brands. The Outdoor and Recreation segment provides outdoor and outdoor-related products, inlcuding technical apparel and on-the-go beverageware under the Campingaz, Coleman, Contigo, and Marmot brands. It serves warehouse clubs, department and drug/grocery stores, mass merchants, home centers, commercial products distributors, specialty retailers, office superstores and supply stores, contract stationers, e-commerce retailers, and sporting goods, as well as direct to consumers online, select contract customers, and other professional customers. Newell Brands Inc. was founded in 1903 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Sony

Sony Group Corporation designs, develops, produces, and sells electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for the consumer, professional, and industrial markets in Japan, the United States, Europe, China, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company distributes software titles and add-on content through digital networks; network services related to game, video, and music content; and home gaming consoles, packaged and game software, and peripheral devices. It also develops, produces, markets, and distributes recorded music; publishes music; and produces and distributes animation titles, game applications, and various services for music and visual products. In addition, the company produces, acquires, and distributes live-action and animated motion pictures for theatrical release, as well as scripted and animated series, unscripted reality or light entertainment, daytime serials, game shows, television movies, and miniseries and other television programs; operation of television networks and direct-to-consumer streaming services; operates a visual effects and animation unit; and manages a studio facility. Further, it researches, develops, designs, produces, markets, distributes, sells, and services televisions, and video and sound products; interchangeable lens, as well as compact digital, and consumer and professional video cameras; projectors and medical equipment; mobile phones, accessories, and applications; and metal oxide semiconductor image sensors, charge-coupled devices, integration systems, and other semiconductors. Additionally, it offers Internet broadband network services; recording media, and storage media products; and life and non-life insurance, banking, and other services, as well as creates and distributes content for PCs and mobile phones. The company was formerly known as Sony Corporation and changed its name to Sony Group Corporation in April 2021. Sony Group Corporation was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.