Crawford United (OTCMKTS:CRAWA) and Graco (NYSE:GGG) Head to Head Comparison

Graco (NYSE:GGG) and Crawford United (OTCMKTS:CRAWA) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.9% of Graco shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Crawford United shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Graco shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 37.9% of Crawford United shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Graco and Crawford United’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Graco	22.26%	19.05%	15.77%
Crawford United	9.48%	21.02%	12.96%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Graco and Crawford United, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Graco	0	1	3	0	2.75
Crawford United	0	0	0	0	0.00

Graco currently has a consensus price target of $94.50, indicating a potential upside of 11.56%. Given Graco’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Graco is more favorable than Crawford United.

Volatility and Risk

Graco has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Crawford United has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Graco and Crawford United”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Graco	$2.11 billion	6.64	$486.08 million	$2.82	30.04
Crawford United	$150.20 million	1.75	$13.60 million	$4.38	16.95

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

Summary

Graco beats Crawford United on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Graco

Graco Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors. The Industrial segment provides liquid finishing equipment, paint circulating and supply pumps, paint circulating advanced control systems, plural component coating proportioners, and accessories and spare parts; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions. It also offers powder finishing products to coat powder finishing on metals under the Gema and SAT brands. The Process segment provides pumps to move and dispense chemicals, water, wastewater, petroleum, food, lubricants, and other fluids; pressure valves used in the oil and natural gas industry, other industrial processes, and research facilities; and chemical injection pumping solutions for injection of chemicals into producing oil wells and pipelines. It also supplies pumps, hose reels, meters, valves, and accessories for fast oil change facilities, service garages, fleet service centers, automobile dealerships, auto parts stores, truck builders, and heavy equipment service centers; and systems, components, and accessories for the automatic lubrication of bearings, gears, and generators in industrial and commercial equipment, compressors, turbines, and on- and off-road vehicles. It sells its products through distributors, original equipment manufacturers, and home center channels, as well as to end-users. The company was incorporated in 1926 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

About Crawford United

Crawford United Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides specialty industrial products in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Commercial Air Handling Equipment; and Industrial and Transportation Products. The Commercial Air Handling segment designs, manufactures, and installs large-scale commercial, institutional, and industrial custom air handling solutions to health care, education, pharmaceutical, and industrial manufacturing markets under the FactoryBilt and SiteBilt brand names. The Industrial and Transportation Products segment is involved in the manufacture of flexible interlocking metal hoses primarily to heavy-duty truck manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers, as well as to the agricultural, industrial, and petrochemical markets; and distribution of silicone and hydraulic hoses to the agriculture and general industrial markets. It also provides engineering, machining, grinding, welding, brazing, heat treat, and assembly solutions; rubber and plastic marine hose for the recreational boating industry; engineered manufacturing solutions, including CNC machining, anodizing, electro polishing, and laser marking for defense, aerospace, and medical device markets; and hydraulic hoses, air tank assemblies, and related products to manufacturers of firefighting trucks and other emergency vehicles. In addition, the company engages in the supply of highly engineered forgings for the aerospace, industrial gas turbine, medical prosthetics, alternative energy, petrochemical, and defense industries; and developing and commercializing marketing and data analytic technology applications. The company was formerly known as Hickok Incorporated and changed its name to Crawford United Corporation in May 2019. Crawford United Corporation was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.