MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (NYSE:MWA) and Omega Flex (NASDAQ:OFLX) Critical Comparison

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (NYSE:MWA) and Omega Flex (NASDAQ:OFLX) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Dividends

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS pays an annual dividend of $0.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Omega Flex pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS pays out 29.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Omega Flex pays out 79.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Omega Flex has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS and Omega Flex”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS	$1.31 billion	2.95	$115.90 million	$0.91	27.24
Omega Flex	$101.68 million	3.61	$18.01 million	$1.72	21.13

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS has higher revenue and earnings than Omega Flex. Omega Flex is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS and Omega Flex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS	10.48%	21.31%	10.86%
Omega Flex	17.40%	21.09%	16.89%

Volatility and Risk

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Omega Flex has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS and Omega Flex, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS	0	3	1	0	2.25
Omega Flex	0	0	0	0	0.00

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS presently has a consensus price target of $26.25, indicating a potential upside of 5.89%. Given MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS is more favorable than Omega Flex.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.7% of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.1% of Omega Flex shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 65.2% of Omega Flex shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS beats Omega Flex on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS

Mueller Water Products, Inc. manufactures and markets products and services for the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water used by municipalities, and the residential and non-residential construction industries in the United States, Israel, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions. The Water Flow Solutions segment provides valves for water systems, such as iron gate, butterfly, tapping, check, knife, plug, and ball valves, which are used to control distribution and transmission of potable water and non-potable water, as well as in water transmission or distribution, water treatment facilities, or industrial applications. It also offers service brass products. The Water Management Solutions segment offers dry-barrel and wet-barrel fire hydrants for water infrastructure development; fire protection systems, and water infrastructure repair and replacement projects; pipe repair products, such as couplings, grips, and clamps used to repair leaks; residential, fire line, and commercial water metering products, systems, and services; water leak detection and pipe condition assessment products and services; machines and tools for tapping, drilling, extracting, installing, and stopping-off; gas valve products for use in gas distribution systems; and intelligent water solutions, including pressure control valves, advanced pressure management, network analytics, event management, and date logging. It sells its products under the Canada Valve, Centurion, Ez-Max, Hydro Gate, Hydro-Guard, HYMAX, HYMAX VERSA, Jones, Krausz, Milliken, Mueller, Pratt, Pratt Industrial, Repamax, Repaflex, Singer, Echologics, Echoshore, ePulse, Hersey, LeakFinderRT, LeakFinderST, LeakListener, LeakTuner, Mi.Echo, Mi.Net, Mueller Systems, Sentryx, and U.S. Pipe Valve and Hydrant brands. Mueller Water Products, Inc. was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Omega Flex

Omega Flex, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells flexible metal hoses and accessories in North America and internationally. It offers flexible gas piping for use in residential and commercial buildings; fittings; containment pining; and corrugated medical tubing for use in hospitals, ambulatory care centers, dental, physician and veterinary clinics, laboratories, and other facilities. The company sells its products under the TracPipe, CounterStrike, AutoSnap, AutoFlare, DoubleTrac, DEF-Trac, and MediTrac brand names. It serves various markets, including construction, manufacturing, transportation, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and other industries. The company sells its products through independent sales representatives, distributors, fabricating distributors, wholesalers, original equipment manufacturers, and direct sales, as well as through its website. The company was formerly known as Tofle America, Inc. and changed its name to Omega Flex, Inc. in 1996. Omega Flex, Inc. was incorporated in 1975 and is based in Exton, Pennsylvania.