WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC – Get Free Report) and Alfa Laval (OTCMKTS:ALFVY – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
95.8% of WillScot shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Alfa Laval shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of WillScot shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
WillScot pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Alfa Laval pays an annual dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. WillScot pays out -73.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alfa Laval pays out 28.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. WillScot is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| WillScot | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2.18 |
| Alfa Laval | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2.43 |
WillScot presently has a consensus target price of $26.50, suggesting a potential upside of 34.65%. Given WillScot’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe WillScot is more favorable than Alfa Laval.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares WillScot and Alfa Laval”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| WillScot | $2.28 billion | 1.56 | -$52.99 million | ($0.38) | -51.79 |
| Alfa Laval | $7.12 billion | 3.37 | $845.40 million | $2.11 | 27.48 |
Alfa Laval has higher revenue and earnings than WillScot. WillScot is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alfa Laval, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares WillScot and Alfa Laval’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| WillScot | -3.00% | 21.62% | 3.39% |
| Alfa Laval | 11.63% | 18.41% | 8.16% |
Risk & Volatility
WillScot has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alfa Laval has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Alfa Laval beats WillScot on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About WillScot
WillScot Holdings Corporation provides workspace and portable storage solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates in two segments, Modular Solutions and Storage Solutions. Its modular solutions include panelized and stackable offices, single-wide modular space units, section modulars and redi-plex, classrooms, ground level offices, blast-resistant modules, clearspan structures, and other modular space; and portable storage solutions, such as portable and cold storage containers, as well as trailers. The company leases modular space and portable storage units to customers in the construction, commercial and industrial, retail and wholesale trade, energy and natural resources, education, government and institutions, and healthcare markets. The company offers its solutions primarily under the WillScot and Mobile Mini brand names. The company was formerly known as WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. and changed its name to WillScot Holdings Corporation in July 2024. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.
About Alfa Laval
Alfa Laval Corporate AB provides heat transfer, separation, and fluid handling products and solutions worldwide. It operates in three divisions: Energy, Food & Water, and Marine. The company offers oil/gas-fired steam and composite steam boilers, exhaust gas economizer, and ballast water treatment systems, and exhaust gas cleaning products. It also provides sensing and control, cleaning validation, condition monitoring, agitators, tank, powder mixers, fittings, and tubes, as well as wall mounted cleaning nozzles, rotary jet and heads; and tank accessories and covers. In addition, the company offers centrifugal, rotary lobe, three screw, twin screw, and circumferential piston pumps. Further, it provides butterfly, control and check, double seal, diaphragm, double seat, regulating, safety, sampling, shutter, single seat, and ball valves. Additionally, the company offers heat exchanger, tube-in-tube heat exchangers, and process shell-and-tube heat exchangers. Furthermore, it provides finned tube air heat, scraped surface heat exchangers, and various plate heat exchangers, wet surface, and HYAC hybrid air coolers. The company also offers decanters and separator related products. It serves energy, utilities, home, personal care, food, dairy, beverage, marine, transportation, pharmaceutical, biotech, water, and wastewater industries. Alfa Laval Corporate AB was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in Lund, Sweden.
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