Contrasting Atlas Copco (OTCMKTS:ATLKY) and DXP Enterprises (NASDAQ:DXPE)

Atlas Copco (OTCMKTS:ATLKY) and DXP Enterprises (NASDAQ:DXPE) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Atlas Copco and DXP Enterprises’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlas Copco	15.70%	24.94%	13.21%
DXP Enterprises	4.40%	18.83%	6.04%

Volatility and Risk

Atlas Copco has a beta of 1.47, suggesting that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DXP Enterprises has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Atlas Copco and DXP Enterprises, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlas Copco	1	3	4	0	2.38
DXP Enterprises	0	0	2	1	3.33

DXP Enterprises has a consensus target price of $154.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.37%. Given DXP Enterprises’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe DXP Enterprises is more favorable than Atlas Copco.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Atlas Copco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.8% of DXP Enterprises shares are held by institutional investors. 22.4% of DXP Enterprises shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Atlas Copco and DXP Enterprises”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlas Copco	$17.21 billion	5.89	$2.70 billion	$0.55	37.85
DXP Enterprises	$2.02 billion	1.23	$88.68 million	$5.38	29.62

Atlas Copco has higher revenue and earnings than DXP Enterprises. DXP Enterprises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atlas Copco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Atlas Copco beats DXP Enterprises on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlas Copco

Atlas Copco AB provides compressed air and gas, vacuum, energy, dewatering and industrial pump, industrial power tool, and assembly and machine vision solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania. It operates through Compressor Technique, Vacuum Technique, Industrial Technique, and Power Technique segments. The company offers piston compressors, oil-free tooth and scroll compressors, rotary screw compressors, oil-free blowers, oil-free centrifugal compressors, gas and process compressors, air and gas treatment equipment, expanders and pumps, and medical air solutions. It also provides oil-sealed rotary vane, dry, and liquid ring vacuum pumps; turbomolecular and cryogenic pumps; abatement and integrated systems; industrial assembly tools and solutions; self-pierce riveting solutions; adhesive dispensing and flow drill fastening equipment; material removal tools, and drills and other pneumatic products; machine vision solutions; construction and demolition tools; mobile compressors, generators, and energy storage systems; and industrial flow, portable power, portable flow, and portable air products, as well as specialty rental services. The company serves the semiconductor and flat panel, industrial manufacturing, civil engineering, demolition, exploration drilling, automotive, off-highway vehicles, electronics, aerospace, energy, food, pharmaceutical, textile, and other industries. Atlas Copco AB was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Nacka, Sweden.

About DXP Enterprises

DXP Enterprises, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in distributing maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products, equipment, and services in the United States and Canada. It operates through three segments: Service Centers (SC), Supply Chain Services (SCS), and Innovative Pumping Solutions (IPS). The SC segment offers MRO products, equipment, and integrated services, including technical expertise and logistics services. It offers a range of MRO products in the rotating equipment, bearing, power transmission, hose, fluid power, metal working, fastener, industrial supply, safety products, and safety services categories. This segment serves customers in the oil and gas, food and beverage, petrochemical, transportation, other general industrial, mining, construction, chemical, municipal, agriculture, and pulp and paper industries. The SCS segment manages procurement and inventory vinventory optimization and management, storeroom management, transaction consolidation and control, vendor oversight and procurement cost optimization, productivity improvement, and customized reporting services. Its programs include SmartAgreement, a procurement solution for various MRO categories; SmartBuy, an on-site or centralized MRO procurement solution; SmartSource, an on-site procurement and storeroom management solution; SmartStore, an e-Catalog solution; SmartVend, an industrial dispensing solution; and SmartServ, an integrated service pump solution. The IPS segment fabricates and assembles custom-made pump packages; remanufactures pumps; and manufactures branded private label pumps. DXP Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1908 and is based in Houston, Texas.