Wabash National (NYSE:WNC – Get Free Report) and Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Wabash National and Middleby”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Wabash National | $1.54 billion | 0.31 | $211.45 million | ($3.41) | -3.44 |
| Middleby | $3.20 billion | 1.68 | -$277.73 million | ($9.26) | -12.85 |
Wabash National has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Middleby. Middleby is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Wabash National, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Wabash National and Middleby’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Wabash National | -9.13% | -42.42% | -10.90% |
| Middleby | -13.22% | 17.44% | 7.66% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Wabash National and Middleby, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Wabash National | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.40 |
| Middleby | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2.56 |
Wabash National currently has a consensus price target of $23.33, indicating a potential upside of 99.09%. Middleby has a consensus price target of $158.25, indicating a potential upside of 33.04%. Given Wabash National’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Wabash National is more favorable than Middleby.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
97.0% of Wabash National shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.5% of Middleby shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of Wabash National shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of Middleby shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility and Risk
Wabash National has a beta of 1.48, suggesting that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Middleby has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Middleby beats Wabash National on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Wabash National
Wabash National Corporation provides connected solutions for the transportation, logistics, and distribution industries primarily in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Transportation Solutions and Parts & Services. The Transportation Solutions segment designs and manufactures transportation-related equipment and products dry and refrigerated van trailers, platform trailers, tank trailers, and truck-mounted tanks; truck bodies for dry-freight transportation; cargo and cargo XL bodies for commercial applications; refrigerated truck bodies; platform truck bodies; and used trailers, as well as laminated hardwood oak flooring products. The Parts & Services segment provides aftermarket parts and services; steel flatbed bodies, truck body mounting, shelving for package delivery, partitions, roof racks, hitches, liftgates, thermal solutions, and others; truck body repair parts; and door repair and replacement, collision repair, and basic maintenance services. It also develops and scales a digital marketplace for the transportation and logistics distribution industry; operates a parts and services distribution platform; and stainless steel storage tanks and silos, mixers, and processors for the dairy, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, craft brewing, and biotech markets; trailers as a service; and composite products, including truck bodies, overhead doors, and other industrial application products, as well as used trailers. The company offers its products under the Wabash, DuraPlate, DuraPlateHD, DuraPlate AeroSkirt, and AeroSkirt CX brands, as well as EcoNex brand. It serves its products to truckload common carriers, leasing companies, private fleet carriers, less-than-truckload common carriers, and package carriers. Wabash National Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana.
About Middleby
The Middleby Corporation designs, markets, manufactures, distributes, and services foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchen equipment worldwide. Its Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group segment offers conveyor, combi, convection, baking, proofing, deck, speed cooking, and hydrovection ovens; ranges, fryers, and rethermalizers; steam cooking, food warming, catering, induction cooking, and countertop cooking equipment; heated cabinets, charbroilers, ventless cooking systems, kitchen ventilation, toasters, griddles, charcoal grills, professional mixers, stainless steel fabrication, custom millwork, professional refrigerators, blast chillers, cold rooms, ice machines, and freezers; soft serve ice cream, coffee and beverage dispensing, home and professional craft brewing equipment; and fry dispensers, bottle filling and canning equipment, IoT solutions, and controls development and manufacturing. The company's Food Processing Equipment Group segment provides batch, baking, proofing, conveyor belt, and continuous processing ovens; frying and automated thermal processing systems; tumblers, massagers, grinders, slicers, reduction and emulsion systems, mixers, and blenders; battering, breading, and seeding equipment; water cutting systems, food presses, food suspension equipment, filling and depositing solutions, and forming equipment; and automated washing systems, auto-guided vehicles, food safety, food handling, freezing, and defrosting and packaging equipment. Its Residential Kitchen Equipment Group segment offers kitchen equipment comprising cookers, stoves, cooktops, microwaves, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, undercounter refrigeration, wine cellars, ice machines, beer dispensers, mixers, rotisseries, and ventilation and outdoor cooking equipment. The company was formerly known as Middleby Marshall Oven Company and changed its name to The Middleby Corporation in 1985. The company was founded in 1888 and is based in Elgin, Illinois.
Receive News & Ratings for Wabash National Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wabash National and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
