Fresenius SE & Co. (OTCMKTS:FSNUY) vs. Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Financial Review

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) and Fresenius SE & Co. (OTCMKTS:FSNUY) are both large-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Baxter International and Fresenius SE & Co.”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	1.10	-$957.00 million	($2.07)	-11.82
Fresenius SE & Co.	$25.87 billion	1.13	$1.43 billion	$0.79	16.35

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Baxter International and Fresenius SE & Co., as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baxter International	2	9	2	0	2.00
Fresenius SE & Co.	0	0	3	0	3.00

Baxter International currently has a consensus price target of $22.45, suggesting a potential downside of 8.24%. Given Baxter International’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Baxter International is more favorable than Fresenius SE & Co..

Risk & Volatility

Baxter International has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fresenius SE & Co. has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Baxter International and Fresenius SE & Co.’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%
Fresenius SE & Co.	6.67%	10.33%	4.87%

Dividends

Baxter International pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Fresenius SE & Co. pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Baxter International pays out -1.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fresenius SE & Co. pays out 25.3% 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.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

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

Summary

Fresenius SE & Co. beats Baxter International on 10 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 Fresenius SE & Co.

Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA, a health care company, provides products and services for chronically ill patients. It operates through four segments: Fresenius Medical Care, Fresenius Kabi, Fresenius Helios, and Fresenius Vamed. The Fresenius Medical Care segment offers products and services for patients with chronic kidney failure. This segment provides dialyzers, dialysis machines, and related disposable products, as well as dialysis-related services. The Fresenius Kabi segment engages in the therapy and care of critically and chronically ill patients. This segment offers I.V. generic drugs; biosimilar drugs for autoimmune diseases and oncology; enteral and parenteral nutrition products; medical technologies, as well as disposables, infusions pumps, apheresis machines, cell therapy devices, and other products. The Fresenius Helios segment provides clinical and nursing care facilities. The Fresenius Vamed segment provides services for hospitals and other healthcare facilities. This segment also offers operational management of healthcare facilities and provides services to patients. The company was formerly known as Fresenius SE and changed its name to Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA in January 2011. Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany.