AZZ (NYSE:AZZ – Get Rating) and XPEL (NASDAQ:XPEL – Get Rating) are both small-cap industrial products companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for AZZ and XPEL, as provided by MarketBeat.
Get AZZ alerts:| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| AZZ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| XPEL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
AZZ presently has a consensus target price of $48.50, indicating a potential upside of 19.75%. XPEL has a consensus target price of $89.00, indicating a potential upside of 24.28%. Given XPEL's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe XPEL is more favorable than AZZ.
Volatility and Risk
AZZ has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its share price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, XPEL has a beta of 1.86, meaning that its share price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500.Profitability
This table compares AZZ and XPEL's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| AZZ | -2.46% | 15.04% | 5.30% |
| XPEL | 12.43% | 40.61% | 22.06% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
88.5% of AZZ shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.5% of XPEL shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of AZZ shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.6% of XPEL shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares AZZ and XPEL's revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| AZZ | $902.66 million | 1.12 | $84.02 million | ($1.05) | -38.57 |
| XPEL | $259.26 million | 7.63 | $31.57 million | $1.41 | 50.79 |
AZZ has higher revenue and earnings than XPEL. AZZ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than XPEL, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
XPEL beats AZZ on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About AZZ
(Get Rating)
AZZ Inc. offers galvanizing and metal coating solutions, welding solutions, specialty electrical equipment, and engineered services to the power generation, transmission, distribution, refining, and industrial markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Infrastructure Solutions and Metal Coatings. The Metal Coatings segment offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to the steel fabrication and other industries. It serves fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the electrical and telecommunications, bridge and highway, petrochemical, and general industrial markets, as well as original equipment manufacturers. The Infrastructure Solutions segment provides products and services to support industrial and electrical applications. It offers custom switchgear, electrical enclosures, medium and high voltage bus ducts, explosion proof and hazardous duty lighting, and tubular products, as well as solutions and engineering resources to multi-national companies. This segment sells its products through internal sales force, manufacturers' representatives, distributors, and agents. The company was incorporated in 1956 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.
About XPEL
(Get Rating)
XPEL, Inc. manufactures, sells, distributes, and installs after-market automotive products. The company offers automotive surface and paint protection films, headlight protection, and automotive and architectural window films, as well as proprietary software. It also provides merchandise and apparel; ceramic coatings; and tools and accessories, which includes squeegees and microfiber towels, application fluids, plotter cutters, knives, and other products. In addition, the company offers paint protection kits, car wash products, after-care products, and installation tools through its website. It sells its products to independent installers and new car dealerships, third-party distributors, and company-owned installation centers, as well as through franchisees and online sales channels. The company serves in the United States, China, Canada, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East/Africa, and internationally. XPEL, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.
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