Head to Head Survey: Orion Group (NYSE:ORN) versus Williams Industries (OTCMKTS:WMSI)

Orion Group (NYSE:ORN) and Williams Industries (OTCMKTS:WMSI) are both construction companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Orion Group and Williams Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Orion Group	1.25%	9.23%	3.25%
Williams Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

70.3% of Orion Group shares are held by institutional investors. 5.9% of Orion Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 47.4% of Williams Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Orion Group and Williams Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Orion Group	0	0	2	0	3.00
Williams Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00

Orion Group presently has a consensus target price of $11.25, indicating a potential upside of 57.34%. Given Orion Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Orion Group is more favorable than Williams Industries.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Orion Group and Williams Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Orion Group	$796.39 million	0.36	-$1.64 million	$0.05	143.00
Williams Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Williams Industries has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Orion Group.

Summary

Orion Group beats Williams Industries on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Orion Group

Orion Group Holdings, Inc. operates as a specialty construction company in the building, industrial, and infrastructure sectors in the United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, and the Caribbean Basin. It operates in two segments, Marine and Concrete. The company provides marine construction services, including construction, restoration, dredging, maintenance, and repair of marine transportation facilities and pipelines, bridges and causeways, and marine environmental structures. Its marine transportation facility projects comprise cruise ship port facilities, private terminals, special-use navy terminals, recreational use marinas and docks, and other marine-based facilities, as well as building or rehabilitating public port facilities for container ship loading and unloading. The company also offers on-going maintenance and repair, inspection, emergency repair, and demolition and salvage services. Its marine pipeline service projects include the installation and removal of underwater buried pipeline transmission lines; the installation of pipeline intakes and outfalls for industrial facilities; the construction of pipeline outfalls for wastewater and industrial discharges; river crossing and directional drilling; the creation of hot taps and tie-ins; and inspection, maintenance, and repair services. The company's bridge and causeway projects include the construction, repair, and maintenance of overwater bridges and causeways, as well as the develops fendering systems in marine environments. The company also provides specialty services, such as design, salvage, demolition, surveying, towing, diving and underwater inspection, excavation, and repair services. In addition, it offers elevated concrete pouring for columns, elevated beams, and structural walls; and light commercial services comprising slabs, sidewalks, ramps, and tilt walls. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Williams Industries

Williams Industries, Incorporated manufactures and sells welded steel plate girders, rolled steel beams, stay-in-place bridge decking, and light structural and other metal products in the United States. The company also offers steel, precast concrete and miscellaneous metals erection and installation services, as well as rigging and specialized hauling services. It also rents cranes. The company provides its services and products for industrial, governmental, commercial, and institutional construction markets. Williams Industries, Incorporated was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Manassas, Virginia.