Head-To-Head Analysis: Millicom International Cellular (TIGO) versus Its Rivals

Millicom International Cellular (NASDAQ:TIGO) is one of 203 public companies in the “Diversified Telecommunication Services” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Millicom International Cellular to similar businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Millicom International Cellular and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Millicom International Cellular	1	3	3	0	2.29
Millicom International Cellular Competitors	1759	5365	7771	385	2.44

Millicom International Cellular presently has a consensus target price of $87.18, suggesting a potential downside of 2.51%. As a group, “Diversified Telecommunication Services” companies have a potential upside of 21.69%. Given Millicom International Cellular’s rivals stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Millicom International Cellular has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

32.8% of shares of all “Diversified Telecommunication Services” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Millicom International Cellular shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 18.3% of shares of all “Diversified Telecommunication Services” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Millicom International Cellular and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Millicom International Cellular	$5.82 billion	$1.32 billion	26.46
Millicom International Cellular Competitors	$106.23 billion	$893.66 million	-167.40

Millicom International Cellular’s rivals have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Millicom International Cellular. Millicom International Cellular is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Millicom International Cellular and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Millicom International Cellular	7.02%	21.45%	3.12%
Millicom International Cellular Competitors	-10.13%	-215.82%	-3.42%

Dividends

Millicom International Cellular pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Millicom International Cellular pays out 88.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Diversified Telecommunication Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 13.6% and pay out 33.2% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Millicom International Cellular lags its rivals as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

Millicom International Cellular has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Millicom International Cellular’s rivals have a beta of -4.90, meaning that their average share price is 590% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Millicom International Cellular rivals beat Millicom International Cellular on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

About Millicom International Cellular

Millicom International Cellular is a telecommunications company that serves consumers, households and businesses in Latin America under the Tigo brand. Its services include mobile voice and data, fixed broadband and pay television. The company also provides digital and enterprise services, including connectivity and related technology solutions for businesses. Its operations span multiple Latin American markets, with offerings tailored to local consumer and business needs. Founded in 1990, Millicom has developed from an international mobile operator into a provider of integrated telecommunications and digital services.