Financial Analysis: Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) vs. DNOW (NYSE:DNOW)

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) and DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ingersoll Rand and DNOW”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ingersoll Rand	$7.24 billion	4.17	$838.60 million	$1.28	59.28
DNOW	$2.37 billion	0.68	$81.00 million	$0.76	19.71

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.3% of Ingersoll Rand shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.6% of DNOW shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Ingersoll Rand shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of DNOW shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Ingersoll Rand and DNOW’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ingersoll Rand	7.10%	12.12%	6.89%
DNOW	3.45%	8.97%	6.26%

Volatility & Risk

Ingersoll Rand has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DNOW has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Ingersoll Rand and DNOW, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ingersoll Rand	0	7	6	0	2.46
DNOW	0	1	1	0	2.50

Ingersoll Rand currently has a consensus price target of $98.75, suggesting a potential upside of 30.13%. DNOW has a consensus price target of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.19%. Given Ingersoll Rand’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ingersoll Rand is more favorable than DNOW.

Summary

Ingersoll Rand beats DNOW on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand Inc. provides various mission-critical air, gas, liquid, and solid flow creation technologies services and solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services, and Precision and Science Technologies. The Industrial Technologies and Services segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services air and gas compression, vacuum, and blower products; fluid transfer equipment and loading systems; and power tools and lifting equipment, including associated aftermarket parts, consumables, air treatment equipment, controls, other accessories, and services under the under the Ingersoll Rand, Gardner Denver, Nash, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle brands, etc. The Precision and Science Technologies segment designs, manufactures, and markets diaphragm, piston, water-powered, peristaltic, gear, vane, progressive cavity, and syringe pumps; and gas boosters, hydrogen compression systems, automated liquid handling systems, odorant injection systems, controls, software, and other related components and accessories for liquid and gas dosing, transfer, dispensing, compression, sampling, pressure management, and flow control in specialized or critical applications under the Air Dimensions, Albin, ARO, Dosatron, Haskel, Ingersoll Rand, LMI, Maximus, Milton Roy, MP, Oberdorfer, Seepex, Thomas, Welch, Williams, YZ, and Zinnser Analytic brand names. This segment's products are used in medical, life sciences, industrial manufacturing, water and wastewater, chemical processing, energy, food and beverage, agriculture, and other markets. It sells through an integrated network of direct sales representatives and independent distributors. The company was formerly known as Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Ingersoll Rand Inc. in March 2020. Ingersoll Rand Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina.

About DNOW

DNOW Inc. distributes downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, LNG terminals, power generation utilities, and customer on-site locations in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides consumable maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; pipes, manual and automated valves, fittings, flanges, gaskets, fasteners, electrical instrumentations, artificial lift, pumping solutions, valve actuation and modular process, and measurement and control equipment; and mill supplies, tools, safety supplies, and personal protective equipment, as well as artificial lift systems, coatings, and miscellaneous expendable items. It also offers original equipment manufacturer equipment, including pumps, generator sets, air compressors, dryers, blowers, mixers, and valves; modular oil and gas tank battery solutions; and application systems, work processes, parts integration, optimization solutions, and after-sales support services. In addition, the company provides supply chain and materials management; inventory planning and management, procurement, and warehouse management, as well as solutions for logistics, point of issue technology, project management, business process, and performance metrics reporting services. It serves customers in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of the energy industry, including drilling contractors, well-servicing companies, independent and national oil and gas companies, midstream operators, and refineries, as well as petrochemical, chemical, utilities, RNG facilities, and other downstream energy processors; and industrial and manufacturing companies. The company was formerly known as NOW Inc. and changed its name to DNOW Inc. in January 2024. DNOW Inc. was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.