Knife River (NYSE:KNF – Get Free Report) and Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina (NYSE:LOMA – Get Free Report) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, risk and valuation.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Knife River and Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Knife River | $3.15 billion | 1.04 | $157.07 million | $2.45 | 23.47 |
| Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina | $692.89 million | 1.55 | $18.87 million | $0.29 | 31.72 |
Knife River has higher revenue and earnings than Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina. Knife River is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
80.1% of Knife River shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.3% of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Knife River shares are held by 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 Knife River and Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Knife River | 4.23% | 8.73% | 3.65% |
| Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina | 5.05% | 3.79% | 2.15% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Knife River and Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Knife River | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2.42 |
| Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Knife River presently has a consensus price target of $69.29, suggesting a potential upside of 20.50%. Given Knife River’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Knife River is more favorable than Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina.
Risk & Volatility
Knife River has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Knife River beats Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Knife River
Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete. It also provides contracting service, such as heavy-civil construction, asphalt and concrete paving, and site development and grading. In addition, the company sells cement, merchandise, and other building materials and related services. The company sells its construction materials to public and private-sector customers, including federal, state, and municipal governments, as well as industrial, commercial and residential developers, and other private parties; and provides its contracting services to public-sector customers for the development and servicing of highways, local roads, bridges, and other public-infrastructure projects. Knife River Corporation was founded in 1917 and is based in Bismarck, North Dakota.
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.
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