Head to Head Review: Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) vs. Lonza Group (OTCMKTS:LZAGY)

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) and Lonza Group (OTCMKTS:LZAGY) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Agilent Technologies and Lonza Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Agilent Technologies	$7.23 billion	5.40	$1.30 billion	$4.98	27.76
Lonza Group	$7.88 billion	5.53	$1.15 billion	N/A	N/A

Agilent Technologies has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Lonza Group.

Volatility and Risk

Agilent Technologies has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lonza Group has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Agilent Technologies and Lonza Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Agilent Technologies	0	2	13	1	2.94
Lonza Group	0	1	1	0	2.50

Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus price target of $161.71, suggesting a potential upside of 16.99%. Given Agilent Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Agilent Technologies is more favorable than Lonza Group.

Profitability

This table compares Agilent Technologies and Lonza Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Agilent Technologies	19.55%	24.33%	12.99%
Lonza Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.4% of Agilent Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Lonza Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Agilent Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Lonza Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Agilent Technologies pays an annual dividend of $1.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lonza Group pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Agilent Technologies pays out 20.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Agilent Technologies has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. Agilent Technologies is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Agilent Technologies beats Lonza Group on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies, Inc. provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies. The Diagnostics and Genomics segment focuses on genomics, nucleic acid contract manufacturing and research and development, pathology, companion diagnostics, reagent partnership, and biomolecular analysis businesses. The Agilent CrossLab segment provides GC and LC columns, sample preparation products, custom chemistries, and laboratory instrument supplies; and offers services portfolio, including repairs, parts, maintenance, installations, training, compliance support, software as a service, asset management, and consulting services. The company markets its products through direct sales, distributors, resellers, manufacturer’s representatives, and electronic commerce. Agilent Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

About Lonza Group

Lonza Group AG, together with its subsidiaries, supplies various products and services for pharmaceutical, biotech, and nutrition markets in Europe, North and Central America, Latin America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. It operates through Biologics, Small Molecules, Cell & Gene, and Capsules & Health Ingredients segments. The Biologics segment engages in the contract development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals for clinical and commercial manufacturing needs throughout the product lifecycle, including drug substance and drug product manufacturing. The Small Molecules segment operates as an integrated development and manufacturing service provider for small molecule drug substances and their intermediates. This segment also supports customers across various aspects of design, development, and manufacturing, including particle engineering and drug product packaging. The Cell & Gene segment develops technologies and platforms that industrialize the manufacturing processes and production of cell and gene therapies; offers contract development and manufacturing services, and regulatory support for a range of allogeneic and autologous cell therapies, and exosome-based therapies, as well as viral vector gene therapies. This segment also provides Cocoon platform, a closed automated system for patient-scale cell therapy manufacturing; and specialty raw materials and enabling technology solutions in cell and gene therapy, injectable drugs, vaccines, and bio-manufacturing markets. The Capsules & Health Ingredients segment offers capsules, dosage form solutions, and health ingredients for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical customers. Lonza Group AG was incorporated in 1897 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.