Comparing Watsco (NYSE:WSO.B) and Mestek (OTCMKTS:MCCK)

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Watsco and Mestek”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Watsco	$7.62 billion	2.48	$536.29 million	$13.01	35.86
Mestek	$398.17 million	0.82	$59.39 million	$10.72	4.03

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Watsco shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Mestek shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.8% of Watsco shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 65.2% of Mestek shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Watsco and Mestek’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Watsco	6.98%	17.13%	11.86%
Mestek	20.17%	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Watsco has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mestek has a beta of 0.47, meaning that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Watsco beats Mestek on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, distributes air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment; and related parts and supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. It offers residential ducted and ductless air conditioners; gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment. The company also provides parts comprising replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors, and other component parts; and supplies, such as thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tapes, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies. It serves contractors and dealers that service the replacement and new construction markets for residential and light commercial central air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration systems. In addition, the company exports its products to Latin America and the Caribbean Basin. Watsco, Inc. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

About Mestek

Mestek, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells heating, ventilating, and air conditioning products and equipment; and metal forming equipment in the United States and internationally. The company offers equipment for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning primarily under the Lockformer, lowaPrecision, Engel, and Lion brands; roll forming and flexible fabrication equipment; metal stamping products, including uncoilers, straighteners, press feeds, and dies; and coil metal processing products, including cut-to-length, multi-blanking, and coil slitting and precision corrective levelers. It also provides a range of aftermarket services, such as OEM replacement parts for existing and used equipment, and on-site service support and training services. In addition, it engages in equipment rebuilding and electrical installation works; and tube and pipe production and fabrication. Further, the company offers custom metal-framed skylights, canopies, curtain walls, covered walkways, rain screens/wall-cladding, structural glass/point fixed glass, and ornamental metal products. Additionally, it provides operable and fixed solar shading louver systems; and architectural louvers, grilles, vision screens, penthouses, and brise soleil fixed sunshades. Mestek, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is based in Westfield, Massachusetts.