Head to Head Contrast: Webco Industries (OTCMKTS:WEBC) & Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI)

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) and Webco Industries (OTCMKTS:WEBC) are both industrial products companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Valmont Industries and Webco Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Valmont Industries	8.55%	22.27%	10.09%
Webco Industries	1.23%	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Valmont Industries and Webco Industries”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Valmont Industries	$4.08 billion	1.59	$348.26 million	$17.18	18.77
Webco Industries	$608.44 million	0.21	$16.05 million	$8.95	20.22

Valmont Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Webco Industries. Valmont Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Webco Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Valmont Industries has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Webco Industries has a beta of 0.05, suggesting that its stock price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Valmont Industries and Webco Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Valmont Industries	0	1	2	0	2.67
Webco Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00

Valmont Industries presently has a consensus target price of $362.50, indicating a potential upside of 12.44%. Given Valmont Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Valmont Industries is more favorable than Webco Industries.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.8% of Valmont Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Valmont Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 54.4% of Webco Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Valmont Industries beats Webco Industries on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc. operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications. It also offers galvanizing, anodizing, painting, and powder coating services for paint products; towers, small cell structures, camouflage concealment solutions, passive intermodulation mitigation equipment, and components for wireless communication markets; and solar single-axis tracker product, an integrated system of steel structures, electric motors, and electronic controllers, as well as provides coatings services to preserve metal products. In addition, the company manufactures center pivot components and linear irrigation equipment for the agricultural markets, such as parts and tubular products for industrial customers; advanced technology solutions for agricultural sector; mechanical irrigation equipment and service parts under the Valley brand name. It serves municipalities and government entities, commercial lighting fixtures manufacturing companies, contractors, telecommunications and utility companies, and farmers, as well as the general manufacturing sector. Valmont Industries, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

About Webco Industries

Webco Industries, Inc. manufactures and distributes carbon steel, stainless steel, and other metal tubular products. The company offers cold drawn welded and seamless tubing products for use in air cooler and heater, boiler tube, coiled tubing, steam surface condenser, feed water heater, heat exchanger, instrumentation tubing, mechanical tube, welded pipe, pressure tubing, and specialty stainless tubing, as well as original equipment manufacturer applications. It serves power-gen tubing, oil and gas tubular, process tubing, and automotive/industrial tubular industries. Webco Industries, Inc. was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.