Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD – Get Free Report) and Limbach (NASDAQ:LMB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Limbach, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Great Lakes Dredge & Dock | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Limbach | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.20 |
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock currently has a consensus price target of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. Limbach has a consensus price target of $67.50, suggesting a potential upside of 39.03%. Given Limbach’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Limbach is more favorable than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
89.1% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.8% of Limbach shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.0% of Limbach shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Limbach’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Great Lakes Dredge & Dock | 8.27% | 16.46% | 6.48% |
| Limbach | 4.42% | 23.22% | 11.48% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Limbach”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Great Lakes Dredge & Dock | $888.28 million | 1.28 | $73.47 million | $1.07 | 15.89 |
| Limbach | $646.80 million | 0.90 | $39.06 million | $2.50 | 19.42 |
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has higher revenue and earnings than Limbach. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Limbach, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Limbach has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.
About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. engages in the provision of dredging services. Its projects include channel and port maintenance, channel deepening and port expansion, coastal protection and restoration, as well as land reclamation. The company was founded by William A. Lydon and Frederick C. Drews in 1890 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.
About Limbach
Limbach Holdings, Inc. operates as a building systems solution company in the United States. It operates through two segments, General Contractor Relationships and Owner Direct Relationships. The company engages in the construction and renovation projects that involve primarily include mechanical, plumbing, and electrical services. It also provides critical system repair, MEP infrastructure projects, maintenance contracts, building automation upgrades, data driven insights, and program management services. In addition, it offers captive engineering capabilities, estimating and virtual design; and professional engineering, energy analysis, estimation, and detail design and three-dimensional building installation coordination services. The company serves research, acute care, and inpatient hospitals; public and private colleges, universities, research centers; sports arenas; entertainment facilities, and amusement rides and parks; data centers; automotive, energy and general manufacturing plants; and life sciences, including organizations and companies, whose work is centered around research and development focused on living things. Limbach Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania.
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