Critical Survey: Construction Partners (NASDAQ:ROAD) vs. Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN)

Construction Partners (NASDAQ:ROAD) and Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) are both construction companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Construction Partners and Aspen Aerogels”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Construction Partners	$1.82 billion	3.30	$68.93 million	$1.37	78.52
Aspen Aerogels	$397.18 million	1.50	$13.38 million	($3.81)	-1.90

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Construction Partners and Aspen Aerogels, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Construction Partners	0	1	1	2	3.25
Aspen Aerogels	1	2	6	1	2.70

Construction Partners presently has a consensus price target of $112.3333, indicating a potential upside of 4.43%. Aspen Aerogels has a consensus price target of $19.50, indicating a potential upside of 168.97%. Given Aspen Aerogels’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Aspen Aerogels is more favorable than Construction Partners.

Volatility & Risk

Construction Partners has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Aspen Aerogels has a beta of 2.73, indicating that its stock price is 173% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Construction Partners and Aspen Aerogels’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Construction Partners	3.04%	12.24%	3.81%
Aspen Aerogels	-78.53%	2.92%	1.85%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.8% of Construction Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.6% of Aspen Aerogels shares are held by institutional investors. 16.4% of Construction Partners shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Aspen Aerogels shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Construction Partners beats Aspen Aerogels on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Construction Partners

Construction Partners, Inc., a civil infrastructure company, constructs and maintains roadways in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The company provides various products and services to public and private infrastructure projects, such as highways, roads, bridges, airports, and commercial and residential developments. It also engages in manufacturing and distributing hot mix asphalt (HMA) for internal use and sales to third parties in connection with construction projects; and paving activities, including the construction of roadway base layers and application of asphalt pavement. In addition, the company is involved in site development, including the installation of utility and drainage systems; mining aggregates, such as sand, gravel, and construction stones that are used as raw materials in the production of HMA; and distributing liquid asphalt cement for internal use and sales to third parties in connection with HMA production. The company was formerly known as SunTx CPI Growth Company, Inc. and changed its name to Construction Partners, Inc. in September 2017. Construction Partners, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Dothan, Alabama.

About Aspen Aerogels

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aerogel insulation products primarily for use in the energy infrastructure and sustainable insulation materials markets in the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. It operates in two segments, Energy Industrial and Thermal Barrier. The company offers PyroThin thermal barriers for use in lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and energy storage industries; Pyrogel XTE that reduces the risk of corrosion under insulation in energy infrastructure operating systems; and Pyrogel HPS for applications within the power generation market. It also offers Pyrogel XTF to provide protection against fire; Cryogel Z for sub-ambient and cryogenic applications in the energy infrastructure market; Spaceloft Subsea for use in pipe-in-pipe applications in offshore oil production; and Cryogel X201, which is used in designing cold systems, such as refrigerated appliances, cold storage equipment, and aerospace systems. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Northborough, Massachusetts.