Contrasting CRH (NYSE:CRH) and Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ:ROCK)

Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ:ROCK) and CRH (NYSE:CRH) are both construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Gibraltar Industries has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CRH has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Gibraltar Industries and CRH’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gibraltar Industries	10.08%	12.91%	9.18%
CRH	9.09%	15.68%	6.83%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.4% of Gibraltar Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.5% of CRH shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Gibraltar Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of CRH shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Gibraltar Industries and CRH, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gibraltar Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00
CRH	0	2	9	2	3.00

CRH has a consensus price target of $116.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.26%. Given CRH’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CRH is more favorable than Gibraltar Industries.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Gibraltar Industries and CRH”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gibraltar Industries	$1.31 billion	1.36	$137.34 million	$4.17	14.49
CRH	$35.57 billion	2.15	$3.46 billion	$4.78	23.73

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

Summary

CRH beats Gibraltar Industries on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gibraltar Industries

Gibraltar Industries, Inc. manufactures and provides products and services for the renewable energy, residential, agtech, and infrastructure markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Renewables, Residential, Agtech, and Infrastructure. The Renewables segment designs, engineers, manufactures, and installs solar racking and electrical balance of systems for commercial and distributed generation scale solar installations. The Residential segment offers roof and foundation ventilation products and accessories; mail and electronic package solutions, including single mailboxes, cluster style mail and parcel boxes for single and multi-family housing, and electronic package locker systems; roof edgings and flashings; soffits and trims; drywall corner beads; metal roofing and accessories; rain dispersion products comprising gutters and accessories; and exterior retractable awnings. This segment also provides electronic parcel lockers, pipe flashings, and remote-controlled deck awnings and valances for sun protection. The Agtech segment offers growing and processing solutions, including the designing, engineering, manufacturing, construction, maintenance, and support of greenhouses; and indoor growing operations for retail, fruits and vegetables, flowers, cannabis, commercial, institutional and conservatories, and car wash structure applications. The Infrastructure segment offers expansion joints, structural bearings, rubber pre-formed seals and other sealants, elastomeric concrete, and bridge cable protection systems. It serves solar developers, home improvement retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and contractors, as well as institutional and commercial growers of fruit, vegetables, flowers, and plants. Gibraltar Industries, Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

About CRH

CRH plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides building materials solutions in Ireland and internationally. It operates through four segments: Americas Materials Solutions, Americas Building Solutions, Europe Materials Solutions, and Europe Building Solutions. The company provides solutions for the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings; and produces and sells aggregates, cement, readymixed concrete, and asphalt, as well as provides paving and construction services. It also manufactures, supplies, and delivers solutions for the built environment in communities across North America; and offers building and infrastructure solutions serving complex critical utility infrastructure, such as water, energy, transportation, and telecommunications projects, and outdoor living solutions for enhancing private and public spaces. In addition, the company combines materials, products, and services to produce a wide range of architectural and infrastructural solutions for use in the building and renovation of critical utility infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings, and outdoor living spaces for the built environment. Further, it produces and supplies precast and pre-stressed concrete products comprising floor and wall elements, beams, vaults, pipes, and manholes; granite, limestone, and sandstone; concrete and polymer-based products, such as underground vaults, drainage systems, utility enclosures, and modular precast structures; engineered steel, polymer-based anchoring, fixing, and connecting solutions; concrete masonry, hardscape and related products, including pavers, blocks and curbs, retaining walls, and slabs; and fencing and railing systems, composite decking, lawn and garden products, and packaged concrete mixes. The company was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.