Wabash National (NYSE:WNC – Get Free Report) and Hillman Solutions (NASDAQ:HLMN – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation and dividends.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Wabash National and Hillman Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Wabash National | $1.54 billion | 0.35 | $211.45 million | ($1.93) | -6.95 |
| Hillman Solutions | $1.55 billion | 0.88 | $40.31 million | $0.22 | 31.86 |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
97.0% of Wabash National shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.1% of Hillman Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Wabash National shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Hillman Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Wabash National and Hillman Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Wabash National | -5.48% | -36.59% | -10.27% |
| Hillman Solutions | 2.57% | 9.11% | 4.70% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Wabash National and Hillman Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Wabash National | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.25 |
| Hillman Solutions | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2.50 |
Wabash National presently has a consensus target price of $21.67, suggesting a potential upside of 61.41%. Hillman Solutions has a consensus target price of $12.67, suggesting a potential upside of 80.69%. Given Hillman Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hillman Solutions is more favorable than Wabash National.
Risk and Volatility
Wabash National has a beta of 1.48, meaning that its stock price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hillman Solutions has a beta of 1.42, meaning that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Hillman Solutions beats Wabash National on 12 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 Hillman Solutions
Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hillman is a leading North American provider of complete hardware solutions, delivered with industry best customer service to over 40,000 locations. Hillman designs innovative product and merchandising solutions for complex categories that deliver an outstanding customer experience to home improvement centers, mass merchants, national and regional hardware stores, pet supply stores, and OEM & Industrial customers. Leveraging a world-class distribution and sales network, Hillman delivers a “small business” experience with “big business” efficiency.
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