Head-To-Head Comparison: Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) versus Vontier (NYSE:VNT)

Avnet (NASDAQ:AVT) and Vontier (NYSE:VNT) are both mid-cap technology 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.

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avnet	1	1	2	2	2.83
Vontier	1	3	4	0	2.38

Avnet presently has a consensus target price of $93.25, suggesting a potential downside of 6.15%. Vontier has a consensus target price of $41.00, suggesting a potential upside of 27.14%. Given Vontier’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vontier is more favorable than Avnet.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Avnet and Vontier”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avnet	$27.63 billion	0.30	$334.39 million	$3.99	24.90
Vontier	$3.08 billion	1.42	$406.10 million	$2.41	13.38

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

Profitability

This table compares Avnet and Vontier’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avnet	1.21%	9.57%	3.47%
Vontier	11.34%	38.57%	11.30%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.8% of Avnet shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.8% of Vontier shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Avnet shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Vontier shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Avnet pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Vontier pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Avnet pays out 37.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Vontier pays out 4.1% 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. Avnet has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years. Avnet is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

Avnet has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vontier has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vontier beats Avnet on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc., distributes electronic component technology. The company operates through two segments, Electronic Components and Farnell. The Electronic Components segment markets, sells, and distributes semiconductors; interconnect, passive, and electromechanical components; and other integrated components from electronic component manufacturers. It also offers design chain support that provides engineers with technical design solutions; engineering and technical resources to support product design, bill of materials development, and technical education and training; and supply chain solutions that provide support and logistical services to original equipment manufacturers, electronic manufacturing service providers, and electronic component manufacturers. In addition, this segment provides embedded solutions, such as technical design, integration, and assembly of embedded products, systems, and solutions primarily for industrial applications, as well as embedded display solutions comprising touch and passive displays; and develops and manufactures standard board and industrial subsystems, and application-specific devices that enable it to produce systems tailored to specific customer requirements. This segment serves various markets, such as automotive, medical, defense, aerospace, telecommunications, industrial, and digital editing. The Farnell segment distributes kits, tools, and electronic and industrial automation components, as well as test and measurement products to engineers and entrepreneurs. It has operations in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Avnet, Inc. was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Vontier

Vontier Corporation provides mobility ecosystem solutions worldwide. The company operates through Mobility Technologies, Repair Solutions, and Environmental and Fueling Solutions segments. The Mobility Technologies segment provides digitally equipment solutions for mobility ecosystem, such as point-of-sale and payment systems, workflow automation, telematics, data analytics, software platform, and integrated solutions for alternative fuel dispensing. The Repair Solutions segment manufactures and distributes vehicle repair tools, toolboxes, automotive diagnostic equipment and software through mobile franchise network. The Environmental and Fueling Solutions segment offers environmental, fueling hardware, software, and aftermarket solutions for fueling infrastructures. It also offers a range of solutions, including environmental sensors; fueling equipment; field payment hardware; point-of sale, workflow, and monitoring software; vehicle tracking and fleet management; software solutions for EV charging; and vehicle mechanics, and technicians equipment. The company markets its products and services to retail and commercial fueling, convenience store, and car wash operators; commercial vehicle repair businesses, fleet owners/operators and electric vehicle charging network operators, as well as direct sales personnel and independent distributors. It serves customers in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and Latin America. Vontier Corporation was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.