Analyzing Grafton Group (OTCMKTS:GROUF) & TopBuild (NYSE:BLD)

Grafton Group (OTCMKTS:GROUF) and TopBuild (NYSE:BLD) are both construction companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Grafton Group has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TopBuild has a beta of 1.78, meaning that its stock price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Grafton Group and TopBuild, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Grafton Group	0	0	1	0	3.00
TopBuild	1	6	8	1	2.56

TopBuild has a consensus price target of $440.21, suggesting a potential upside of 7.23%. Given TopBuild’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe TopBuild is more favorable than Grafton Group.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Grafton Group and TopBuild”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Grafton Group	$3.32 billion	0.73	$180.07 million	N/A	N/A
TopBuild	$5.41 billion	2.14	$521.73 million	$18.30	22.43

TopBuild has higher revenue and earnings than Grafton Group.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

8.2% of Grafton Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.7% of TopBuild shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of TopBuild shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Grafton Group and TopBuild’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Grafton Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
TopBuild	9.65%	25.66%	9.93%

Summary

TopBuild beats Grafton Group on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Grafton Group

Grafton Group plc engages in the distribution, retailing, and manufacturing businesses in Ireland, the Netherlands, Finland, and the United Kingdom. Its Distribution segment distributes building materials, paint, tools, ironmongery, fixings, and accessories, workwear and PPE, and spare parts; materials and plant for mechanical services, heating, plumbing, and air movement; and trade, DIY, and self-build markets with building materials, timber, doors and floors, plumbing and heating, bathrooms, and landscaping products under the Selco, Leyland SDM, Chadwicks, MacBlair, Isero, Polvo, Gunters en Meuser, TG Lynes, and IKH brands. The company’s Retailing segment retails home and garden products through stores, including DIY products, paints, lighting products, homestyle products, housewares, bathroom products, and kitchens, as well as gardening and Christmas products under the Woodie’s brand. Its Manufacturing segment manufactures dry mortars and wooden staircases; and drainage, ducting and roofline systems under the CPI Mortar, StairBox, and MFP brand names. Grafton Group plc was founded in 1902 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.

About TopBuild

TopBuild Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the installation and distribution of insulation and other building material products to the construction industry. The company operates in two segments, Installation and Specialty Distribution. It provides insulation products and accessories, glass and windows, rain gutters, garage doors, fireplaces, roofing materials, closet shelving, and other products. The company also offers insulation installation services for fiberglass batts and rolls, blown-in loose fill fiberglass, polyurethane spray foam, and blown-in loose fill cellulose applications. In addition, it distributes building and mechanical insulation, insulation accessories, and other building product materials for the residential, commercial, and industrial end markets. The company serves single-family homebuilders, single-family custom builders, multi-family builders, commercial general contractors, remodelers, and individual homeowners, as well as insulation contractors, gutter contractors, weatherization contractors, other contractors, dealers, metal building erectors, and modular home builders. It operates installation branches and distribution centers in the United States and Canada. The company was formerly known as Masco SpinCo Corp. and changed its name to TopBuild Corp. in March 2015. TopBuild Corp. was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida.