Contrasting Swisscom (OTCMKTS:SCMWY) & Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI)

Swisscom (OTCMKTS:SCMWY) and Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Swisscom and Rogers Communication, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Swisscom	0	4	0	0	2.00
Rogers Communication	1	3	3	0	2.29

Rogers Communication has a consensus target price of $59.00, suggesting a potential upside of 65.24%. Given Rogers Communication’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Rogers Communication is more favorable than Swisscom.

Dividends

Swisscom pays an annual dividend of $1.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Rogers Communication pays an annual dividend of $1.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Swisscom pays out 54.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Rogers Communication pays out 72.6% 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.

Volatility and Risk

Swisscom has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rogers Communication has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

45.5% of Rogers Communication shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Swisscom shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.0% of Rogers Communication shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Swisscom and Rogers Communication’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Swisscom	9.29%	10.05%	3.45%
Rogers Communication	7.33%	21.59%	3.72%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Swisscom and Rogers Communication”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Swisscom	$12.54 billion	29.71	$1.75 billion	$2.97	24.21
Rogers Communication	$15.04 billion	1.28	$1.27 billion	$2.01	17.76

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

Summary

Rogers Communication beats Swisscom on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Swisscom

Swisscom AG provides telecommunication services primarily in Switzerland, Italy, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Swisscom Switzerland, Fastweb, and Other Operating. The company offers mobile and fixed-network services, such as telephony, TV, broadband, and mobile offerings, as well as sells terminal equipment; and telecom and communications solutions for large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises. It also provides cloud, outsourcing, workplace, mobile phone, networking, business process optimization, SAP, and security and authentication solutions, as well as a range of services to the banking industry; Internet of Things solutions; digitization services to the healthcare sector; IT systems for health insurance companies; fixed-line and mobile networks by other telecommunication service providers; and roaming to foreign operators whose customers use its mobile networks, as well as broadband services and regulated products. In addition, the company plans, operates, and maintains network infrastructure and IT systems; provides support functions to finance, human resource, and strategy, as well as management of real estate and vehicle fleet; and offers broadband and mobile services, such as telephony, mobile offerings, and broadband services, as well as ICT solutions for residential, business, and wholesale customers. Further, it provides IT and network services; online and telephone directories; and cross-platform retail media and security communication services, as well as builds and maintains wired and wireless networks. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Bern, Switzerland.

About Rogers Communication

Rogers Communications Inc. operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping and express pickup services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands. It also provides internet and WiFi services; and monitoring, security, automation, energy efficiency, and smart control through smartphone app. In addition, the company offers local and network TV; on-demand television; cloud-based digital video recorders; voice-activated remote controls, and integrated apps; personal video recorders; linear and time-shifted programming; digital specialty channels; and 4K television programming. Further, it provides residential and small business local telephony services; voicemail, call waiting, and long distance; voice, data networking, Internet protocol (IP), and Ethernet services; private networking, Internet, IP voice, and cloud solutions; optical wave and multi-protocol label switching services; information technology and network technologies; cable access network services; telecommunications technical consulting services; and season games through television, smartphones, tablets, personal computers, and other streaming devices, as well as operates Ignite TV and Ignite TV app. Additionally, the company owns Toronto Blue Jays and the Rogers Centre event venue; and operates Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet World, Citytv, OMNI, FX (Canada), FXX (Canada), and OLN television networks, as well as 52 AM and FM radio stations. It also offers Rogers and the Rogers World Elite Mastercard. The company was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.