Reviewing VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) & Swisscom (OTCMKTS:SCMWY)

Swisscom (OTCMKTS:SCMWY) and VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Swisscom has a beta of 0.29, indicating that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, VEON has a beta of 1.67, indicating that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

21.3% of VEON shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Swisscom shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Swisscom	8.41%	10.56%	3.53%
VEON	12.12%	47.86%	8.49%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Swisscom and VEON, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Swisscom	2	3	1	0	1.83
VEON	0	1	1	2	3.25

VEON has a consensus target price of $60.00, suggesting a potential upside of 25.73%. Given VEON’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe VEON is more favorable than Swisscom.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Swisscom and VEON”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Swisscom	$18.16 billion	23.94	$1.53 billion	$2.96	28.35
VEON	$4.40 billion	0.80	$532.00 million	$7.43	6.42

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

Summary

VEON beats Swisscom on 9 of the 14 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 VEON

VEON Ltd., a digital operator, provides connectivity and internet services in Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. It offers mobile telecommunications services, including value added and call completion, national and international roaming, wireless Internet access, mobile financial, and mobile bundle services; data connectivity, cross border transit, voice, Internet, and data services; fixed-line telecommunications using intercity fiber optic networks; and Internet-TV using Fiber to the building technology. The company also sells equipment, infrastructure, and accessories. VEON Ltd. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.