Critical Survey: Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) vs. Perma-Pipe International (NASDAQ:PPIH)

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) and Perma-Pipe International (NASDAQ:PPIH) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Valmont Industries and Perma-Pipe International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Valmont Industries	0	1	2	0	2.67
Perma-Pipe International	0	0	0	0	0.00

Valmont Industries currently has a consensus target price of $391.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.36%. Given Valmont Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Valmont Industries is more favorable than Perma-Pipe International.

Risk and Volatility

Valmont Industries has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Perma-Pipe International has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Valmont Industries and Perma-Pipe International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Valmont Industries	5.98%	22.10%	10.19%
Perma-Pipe International	7.31%	17.84%	7.81%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Valmont Industries and Perma-Pipe International”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Valmont Industries	$4.08 billion	1.81	$348.26 million	$10.74	34.88
Perma-Pipe International	$158.38 million	1.40	$8.98 million	$1.54	17.98

Valmont Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Perma-Pipe International. Perma-Pipe International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Valmont Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.8% of Valmont Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.4% of Perma-Pipe International shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Valmont Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of Perma-Pipe International shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Valmont Industries beats Perma-Pipe International on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc. operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications. It also offers galvanizing, anodizing, painting, and powder coating services for paint products; towers, small cell structures, camouflage concealment solutions, passive intermodulation mitigation equipment, and components for wireless communication markets; and solar single-axis tracker product, an integrated system of steel structures, electric motors, and electronic controllers, as well as provides coatings services to preserve metal products. In addition, the company manufactures center pivot components and linear irrigation equipment for the agricultural markets, such as parts and tubular products for industrial customers; advanced technology solutions for agricultural sector; mechanical irrigation equipment and service parts under the Valley brand name. It serves municipalities and government entities, commercial lighting fixtures manufacturing companies, contractors, telecommunications and utility companies, and farmers, as well as the general manufacturing sector. Valmont Industries, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

About Perma-Pipe International

Perma-Pipe International Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engineers, designs, manufactures, and sells specialty piping and leak detection systems. It offers insulated and jacketed district heating and cooling piping systems for energy distribution from central energy plants to various locations; and primary and secondary containment piping systems for transporting chemicals, hazardous fluids, and petroleum products, as well as engages in the coating and insulation of oil and gas gathering and transmission pipelines. The company also offers liquid and powder based anti-corrosion coatings for external and internal surfaces of steel pipe, including shapes like bends, reducers, tees, and other spools/fittings that is used in pipelines for the transportation of oil and gas products and potable water. It has operations in the United States, Canada, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, India, and internationally. The company was formerly known as MFRI, Inc. and changed its name to Perma-Pipe International Holdings, Inc. in March 2017. Perma-Pipe International Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Spring, Texas.