AZZ (NYSE:AZZ – Get Free Report) and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares AZZ and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| AZZ | $1.65 billion | 2.50 | $317.26 million | $6.56 | 20.94 |
| Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor | $1.70 billion | 4.60 | $198.00 million | $1.62 | 29.04 |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
90.9% of AZZ shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.3% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of AZZ shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares AZZ and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| AZZ | 9.59% | 15.05% | 9.06% |
| Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor | 15.45% | 18.01% | 10.74% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations for AZZ and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| AZZ | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2.57 |
| Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2.78 |
AZZ presently has a consensus target price of $152.20, suggesting a potential upside of 10.78%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a consensus target price of $57.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.15%. Given Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor is more favorable than AZZ.
Volatility & Risk
AZZ has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
AZZ pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. AZZ pays out 14.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor pays out 27.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor beats AZZ on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About AZZ
AZZ Inc. provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in North America. It offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries, as well as to fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the transmission and distribution, bridge and highway, petrochemical, and general industrial markets; and original equipment manufacturers. It also provides aesthetic and corrosion protective coatings and related value-added services for steel and aluminum coil primarily serving the construction; appliance; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; container; transportation; and other end markets. The company was incorporated in 1956 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.
About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names. The company also provides flow systems products comprising point drains, hydrants, fixture carrier systems, chemical drainage systems; and interceptors and separators, acid neutralization systems, and remote monitoring systems under the Zurn and Green Turtle brands. In addition, it develops, manufactures, and markets remote tank monitoring devices, alarms, software, and services. Further, the company offers sensor-operated flush valves under the AquaSense, Aquaflush, and AquaVantage brands; heavy-duty commercial faucets under the AquaSpec brand; water conserving fixtures under the EcoVantage and Zurn One brands; stainless steel products under the Just Manufacturing brand name, which include stainless steel sinks and plumbing fixtures, and various types of sinks, as well as drinking water dispensing and filtration products under the Elkay and Halsey Taylor brands. It distributes to institutional, commercial, waterworks, and residential end markets through independent sales representatives, plumbing wholesalers, and industry-specific distributors in the waterworks, foodservice, industrial, janitorial, sanitation, and sitework industries. The company was formerly known as Zurn Water Solutions Corporation and changed its name to Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation in July 2022. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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