Anhui Conch Cement (OTCMKTS:AHCHY) & Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) Head-To-Head Survey

Anhui Conch Cement (OTCMKTS:AHCHY) and Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) are both construction companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Anhui Conch Cement pays an annual dividend of $0.37 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Vulcan Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Anhui Conch Cement pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Vulcan Materials pays out 27.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Vulcan Materials has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Anhui Conch Cement and Vulcan Materials”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Anhui Conch Cement	$12.66 billion	N/A	$1.12 billion	$1.11	12.78
Vulcan Materials	$7.42 billion	4.75	$911.90 million	$7.05	37.84

Anhui Conch Cement has higher revenue and earnings than Vulcan Materials. Anhui Conch Cement is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vulcan Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Anhui Conch Cement and Vulcan Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Anhui Conch Cement	9.56%	4.26%	3.38%
Vulcan Materials	12.50%	12.91%	6.61%

Volatility & Risk

Anhui Conch Cement has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vulcan Materials has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Anhui Conch Cement and Vulcan Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Anhui Conch Cement	0	0	0	1	4.00
Vulcan Materials	0	2	10	2	3.00

Vulcan Materials has a consensus target price of $302.91, suggesting a potential upside of 13.55%. Given Vulcan Materials’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Vulcan Materials is more favorable than Anhui Conch Cement.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.4% of Vulcan Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Vulcan Materials shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Vulcan Materials beats Anhui Conch Cement on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Anhui Conch Cement

Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, sells, and trades in clinker and cement products. The company operates through five segments: Eastern China, Central China, Southern China, Western China, and Overseas. It provides construction and installation services for industrial purposes; logistic services; and mining and related services. The company manufactures and sells cement packaging products, concrete products, and refractory materials; and develops and sells profile and related products, as well as exports clinker and cement products. In addition, it engages in investment and trading, and selling aggregates. Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited was founded in 1997 and is based in Wuhu, the People's Republic of China.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities. It also offers asphalt mix and asphalt construction paving services; ready-mixed concrete; and calcium products for the animal feed, plastics, and water treatment industries. The company was formerly known as Virginia Holdco, Inc. and changed its name to Vulcan Materials Company. Vulcan Materials Company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.