Contrasting Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) and Tenaris (NYSE:TS)

Metallus (NYSE:MTUS) and Tenaris (NYSE:TS) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Metallus has a beta of 1.52, meaning that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tenaris has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.6% of Metallus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.5% of Tenaris shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of Metallus shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Tenaris shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Metallus and Tenaris’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Metallus	5.09%	12.54%	7.79%
Tenaris	24.89%	21.50%	17.58%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Metallus and Tenaris, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Metallus	0	0	0	0	N/A
Tenaris	1	2	0	0	1.67

Tenaris has a consensus price target of $41.93, suggesting a potential upside of 21.16%. Given Tenaris’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Tenaris is more favorable than Metallus.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Metallus and Tenaris’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Metallus	$1.36 billion	0.69	$69.40 million	$1.46	14.62
Tenaris	$14.87 billion	1.37	$3.92 billion	$6.00	5.77

Tenaris has higher revenue and earnings than Metallus. Tenaris is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Metallus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Tenaris beats Metallus on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Metallus

Metallus Inc. manufactures and sells alloy steel, and carbon and micro-alloy steel products in the United States and internationally. The company offers special bar quality (SBQ) bars, seamless mechanical tubes, precision steel components, and billets that are used in gears, hubs, axles, crankshafts and motor shafts, oil country drill pipes, bits and collars, bearing races and rolling elements, bushings, fuel injectors, wind energy shafts, anti-friction bearings, artillery and mortar bodies, and other applications. It also provides custom-make precision steel components. It offers its products and services to the automotive, energy, industrial equipment, mining, construction, rail, aerospace and defense, heavy truck, agriculture, and power generation sectors. The company was formerly known as TimkenSteel Corporation and changed its name to Metallus Inc. in February 2024. Metallus Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Canton, Ohio.

About Tenaris

Tenaris S.A., together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells seamless and welded steel tubular products and related services for the oil and gas industry, and other industrial applications. The company offers steel casings, tubing products, mechanical and structural pipes, line pipes, cold-drawn pipes, and premium joints and couplings; and coiled tubing products for oil and gas drilling and workovers, and subsea pipelines. It also manufactures sucker rods used in oil extraction activities and tubes for plumbing and construction applications; and offers oilfield/hydraulic fracturing services and energy and raw materials, and financial services. The company operates in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Tenaris S.A. was founded in 2001 and is based in Luxembourg. Tenaris S.A. operates as a subsidiary of Techint Holdings S.à r.l.