Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB – Get Free Report) and Gencor Industries (NASDAQ:GENC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Proto Labs and Gencor Industries”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Proto Labs | $533.13 million | 2.81 | $21.24 million | $1.43 | 43.87 |
| Gencor Industries | $110.01 million | 2.20 | $14.67 million | $1.16 | 14.26 |
Proto Labs has higher revenue and earnings than Gencor Industries. Gencor Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Proto Labs, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
84.5% of Proto Labs shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Proto Labs shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 30.4% of Gencor Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Risk and Volatility
Proto Labs has a beta of 1.52, meaning that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gencor Industries has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Proto Labs and Gencor Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Proto Labs | 6.04% | 5.40% | 4.73% |
| Gencor Industries | 14.33% | 8.60% | 8.01% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Proto Labs and Gencor Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Proto Labs | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Gencor Industries | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3.00 |
Proto Labs currently has a consensus price target of $100.50, indicating a potential upside of 60.19%. Gencor Industries has a consensus price target of $19.30, indicating a potential upside of 16.69%. Given Proto Labs’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Proto Labs is more favorable than Gencor Industries.
Summary
Proto Labs beats Gencor Industries on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Proto Labs
Proto Labs, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. The company offers injection molding; computer numerical control machining; three-dimensional printing; and sheet metal fabrication products. It serves developers and engineers, who use 3D computer-aided design software to design products across a range of end-markets. Proto Labs, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Maple Plain, Minnesota.
About Gencor Industries
Gencor Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells heavy machinery used in the production of highway construction materials and environmental control equipment. It offers hot-mix asphalt plants to produce asphalt paving materials; related asphalt plant equipment, including hot-mix storage silos, fabric filtration systems, cold feed bins, and other plant components; and a range of mobile batch plants. The company also provides combustion systems that transform solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels into usable energy, or burn multiple fuels in asphalt and aggregate drying industries; and combustion systems for rotary dryers, kilns, fume and liquid incinerators, and fuel heaters, as well as industrial incinerators. In addition, it offers thermal fluid heat transfer systems that transfer heat for storage, heating, and pumping viscous materials, such as asphalt, chemicals, heavy oils, etc. in various industrial and petrochemical applications; specialty storage tanks for various industrial uses; and asphalt pavers under the Blaw-Knox brand. The company sells its products primarily to the highway construction industry through its sales representatives, and independent dealers and agents worldwide. The company was formerly known as Mechtron International Corporation and changed its name to Gencor Industries, Inc. in 1987. Gencor Industries, Inc. was founded in 1894 and is based in Orlando, Florida.
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