Sysmex (OTCMKTS:SSMXY) and Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Head-To-Head Contrast

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) and Sysmex (OTCMKTS:SSMXY) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Baxter International pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Sysmex pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Baxter International pays out -1.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sysmex pays out 33.3% 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Baxter International and Sysmex”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baxter International	$11.47 billion	1.04	-$957.00 million	($2.07)	-11.12
Sysmex	$3.32 billion	2.25	$234.01 million	$0.42	28.21

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Baxter International and Sysmex, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baxter International	2	9	2	0	2.00
Sysmex	0	2	1	0	2.33

Baxter International currently has a consensus target price of $22.45, indicating a potential downside of 2.41%. Given Baxter International’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Baxter International is more favorable than Sysmex.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.2% of Baxter International shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Baxter International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Baxter International has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sysmex has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Baxter International and Sysmex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baxter International	-9.27%	16.57%	5.24%
Sysmex	7.62%	8.01%	5.61%

Summary

Sysmex beats Baxter International on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories. It also provides administrative sets; adhesion prevention products; inhaled anesthesia; drug compounding; chronic and acute dialysis therapies and services, including peritoneal dialysis (PD), hemodialysis (HD), continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT), and other organ support therapies. The company’s products are used in hospitals, kidney dialysis centers, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, ambulatory surgery centers, doctors’ offices, and patients at home under physician supervision. The company sells its products through direct sales force, as well as through independent distributors, drug wholesalers, and specialty pharmacy or other alternate site providers in approximately 100 countries. It has an agreement with Celerity Pharmaceutical, LLC to develop acute care generic injectable premix and oncolytic products; and a collaborative research agreement with Miromatrix Medical Inc. aiming to advance care for patients with acute liver failure. Baxter International Inc. was incorporated in 1931 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.

About Sysmex

Sysmex Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of diagnostic instruments, reagents, and related software in Japan. It offers three-part and five-part white blood cell differentiation instruments for use in hematology; and transport systems for high-volume testing in labs. The company also provides automated urine particle analyzers; automated blood coagulation analyzers; automated immunochemistry systems, which perform assays on minute sample quantities, as well as reagents to test for infectious disease and tumor markers; and flow cytometers to perform analysis in diagnosing leukemia, malignant lymphoma, and HIV/AIDS. In addition, it offers cancer lymph node metastasis testing systems to detect information to help in diagnosing lymph node metastasis; and lab assay services. Further, the company is involved in the development and sale of software for diagnostic information systems; provision of facility management, office, welfare, and genetic analysis services; development, operation, and maintenance of IT solutions, platforms, and applications related to digital medicine; marketing, development, design, manufacture, sale, and after-sales service related to medical robots; and distribution and after sales support of medical devices and reagents for biotechnology, medical technology, and molecular cell analysis. Additionally, it researches, develops, manufactures, and sells regenerative medicine products; develops, manufactures, and sells biodevices; develops, maintains, and sells computer software; and offers blood DNA testing service. The company serves national and other public hospitals, private hospitals, universities, research institutes, other medical institutions, etc. It also exports its products to approximately 190 countries. The company was formerly known as TOA Medical Electronics Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Sysmex Corporation in October 1998. Sysmex Corporation was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Kobe, Japan.