Medline (NASDAQ:MDLN) and West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) Head-To-Head Analysis

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and Medline (NASDAQ:MDLN) are both large-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Medline”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Pharmaceutical Services	$3.07 billion	9.33	$493.70 million	$8.91	46.21
Medline	$28.43 billion	1.85	$1.16 billion	$0.44	90.86

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Medline shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for West Pharmaceutical Services and Medline, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	1	13	0	2.93
Medline	2	4	23	0	2.72

West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus target price of $424.67, indicating a potential upside of 3.13%. Medline has a consensus target price of $46.08, indicating a potential upside of 15.25%. Given Medline’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Medline is more favorable than West Pharmaceutical Services.

Profitability

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Medline’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Pharmaceutical Services	18.81%	21.78%	15.99%
Medline	1.84%	8.21%	4.03%

Summary

West Pharmaceutical Services beats Medline on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services designs and manufactures packaging components and delivery systems used by the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. Its products help contain and administer injectable medicines and include elastomeric components, such as stoppers and seals, as well as syringe components and other packaging and delivery solutions. The company also provides contract manufacturing services for medical devices and pharmaceutical delivery systems. Its customers include companies developing and producing branded, generic, and biologic medicines.

About Medline

Medline is a healthcare products manufacturer and distributor serving providers across the care continuum. Its customers include hospitals, surgery centers, physician practices, long-term care facilities and home-care organizations. The company offers a broad range of medical and surgical supplies, including products for infection prevention, wound care and patient care, as well as apparel and equipment. Medline also provides supply-chain and logistics services to healthcare organizations. Founded in 1966, Medline is headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, and serves customers in the United States and internationally.