Head to Head Comparison: TeliaSonera (OTCMKTS:TLSNY) vs. VEON (NASDAQ:VEON)

VEON (NASDAQ:VEON) and TeliaSonera (OTCMKTS:TLSNY) are both communication services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

VEON pays an annual dividend of $0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. TeliaSonera pays an annual dividend of $0.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. VEON pays out 27.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. TeliaSonera pays out 77.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares VEON and TeliaSonera”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
VEON	$4.76 billion	0.96	$532.00 million	$0.85	72.74
TeliaSonera	$8.28 billion	2.17	$360.26 million	$0.27	33.89

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

Volatility and Risk

VEON has a beta of 1.65, suggesting that its share price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TeliaSonera has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
VEON	1.24%	14.93%	2.78%
TeliaSonera	6.26%	9.20%	2.66%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for VEON and TeliaSonera, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
VEON	0	2	3	0	2.60
TeliaSonera	1	2	0	1	2.25

VEON presently has a consensus price target of $72.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.46%. Given VEON’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe VEON is more favorable than TeliaSonera.

Summary

VEON beats TeliaSonera on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About TeliaSonera

Telia Company AB (publ) provides communication services to businesses, individuals, families, and communities in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. It offers mobile, broadband, television, and fixed-line services; and networking, cloud and security, mobility, enterprise mobile network, contact center, managed mobility services, collaboration solutions, enterprise telephony, Internet of Things (IoT), carrier ethernet, dedicated internet access, wavelengths, IP Transit, dark fiber, and colocation solutions. The company also provides IoT connectivity, building monitoring, smart public transport, and smart utilities, as well as transport and logistics solutions comprising connected vehicle, asset tracking, and fleet management services. It markets its products and services under the Telia, Telia Cygate, TV4, C More, Halebop, Fello, MTV, Phonero, Onecall, MyCall, CallMe, MIT Tele, Ezys, Diil, Super, and Imt brand names for transport and logistics, public transport, manufacturing, retail, utilities, buildings and real estate, and public sector industries. The company was formerly known as TeliaSonera AB (publ) and changed its name to Telia Company AB (publ) in April 2016. Telia Company AB (publ) was founded in 1853 and is based in Solna, Sweden.