Reviewing Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina (NYSE:LOMA) and PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM)

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina (NYSE:LOMA) and PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, earnings and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PulteGroup has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and PulteGroup”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	$767.70 million	1.76	$169.19 million	$0.84	13.81
PulteGroup	$17.95 billion	1.28	$3.08 billion	$13.38	8.73

PulteGroup has higher revenue and earnings than Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina. PulteGroup is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and PulteGroup, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	0	0	4	0	3.00
PulteGroup	0	5	9	1	2.73

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina currently has a consensus price target of $14.80, suggesting a potential upside of 27.59%. PulteGroup has a consensus price target of $134.15, suggesting a potential upside of 14.91%. Given Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina is more favorable than PulteGroup.

Profitability

This table compares Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and PulteGroup’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	14.52%	12.51%	6.95%
PulteGroup	15.50%	21.01%	14.73%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

19.3% of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.9% of PulteGroup shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of PulteGroup shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

PulteGroup beats Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina

Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cement and its derivatives in Argentina. The company operates through Cement, Masonry Cement and Lime; Concrete; Railroad; Aggregates; and Others segments. It offers masonry cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, concrete, and lime to wholesale distributors, concrete producers, industrial customers, and others for use in the construction. The company also provides rail transportation services; and treats and recycles industrial waste for use as fuel and raw material. It markets its products under the Loma Negra, San Martín, Plasticor, Cacique Plus, Cacique Max, Loma Negra Plus, and Lomax brands. The company was founded in 1926 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima is a subsidiary of Intercement Trading E Inversiones Argentina Sociedad Limitada.

About PulteGroup

PulteGroup, Inc., through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, and American West brand names. In addition, the company arranges financing through the origination of mortgage loans primarily for homebuyers; sells the servicing rights for the originated loans; and provides title insurance policies, and examination and closing services to homebuyers. PulteGroup, Inc. was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.