Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina (NYSE:LOMA – Get Free Report) and Smith-Midland (NASDAQ:SMID – Get Free Report) are both small-cap materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and Smith-Midland”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina | $692.89 million | 1.60 | $18.87 million | $0.29 | 32.80 |
| Smith-Midland | $93.40 million | 1.37 | $12.51 million | $1.45 | 16.70 |
Risk and Volatility
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smith-Midland has a beta of 1.75, meaning that its share price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and Smith-Midland, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Smith-Midland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Profitability
This table compares Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and Smith-Midland’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina | 5.05% | 3.79% | 2.15% |
| Smith-Midland | 8.59% | 14.06% | 8.75% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
19.3% of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.9% of Smith-Midland shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of Smith-Midland shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Smith-Midland beats Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina
Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cement and its derivatives in Argentina. The company operates through Cement, Masonry Cement and Lime; Concrete; Railroad; Aggregates; and Others segments. It offers masonry cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, concrete, and lime to wholesale distributors, concrete producers, industrial customers, and others for use in the construction. The company also provides rail transportation services; and treats and recycles industrial waste for use as fuel and raw material. It markets its products under the Loma Negra, San Martín, Plasticor, Cacique Plus, Cacique Max, Loma Negra Plus, and Lomax brands. The company was founded in 1926 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima is a subsidiary of Intercement Trading E Inversiones Argentina Sociedad Limitada.
About Smith-Midland
Smith-Midland Corporation invents, develops, manufactures, markets, leases, licenses, sells, and installs precast concrete products and systems in the United States. It offers SlenderWall lightweight construction panel, lightweight exterior cladding used for the exterior walls of buildings; Sierra Wall that provides sound and sight barrier for use alongside highways around residential, industrial, and commercial properties; J-J Hooks highway safety barriers, used on roadways to separate lanes of traffic in construction work zone or traffic control purposes; Easi-Set precast building and Easi-Span expandable precast buildings, used in housing communications operations, traffic control systems, and mechanical and electrical stations; Easi-Set utility, vaults for house equipment, such as cable, telephone, or traffic signal equipment, and for underground storage, as well as custom-built utility vaults for special needs; SoftSound soundwall panels, it absorb highway noise; Beach Prisms erosion control modules for seawalls and jetties; and H2Out secondary drainage systems for panelized exterior cladding. It licenses its proprietary products in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, Mexico, and Trinidad. The company markets its products through in-house sales force and independent sales representatives to contractors performing public and private construction contracts, such as construction of commercial buildings, public and private roads and highways, airports, and municipal utilities; and federal, state, and local transportation authorities. It serves its products to construction, highway, utilities, and farming industries. Smith-Midland Corporation was founded in 1960 and is based in Midland, Virginia.
Receive News & Ratings for Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
