Analyzing Hillman Solutions (NASDAQ:HLMN) & United Rentals (NYSE:URI)

Hillman Solutions (NASDAQ:HLMN) and United Rentals (NYSE:URI) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Hillman Solutions and United Rentals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hillman Solutions	0	5	4	0	2.44
United Rentals	1	5	11	2	2.74

Hillman Solutions currently has a consensus price target of $11.83, suggesting a potential upside of 28.48%. United Rentals has a consensus price target of $941.00, suggesting a potential downside of 4.20%. Given Hillman Solutions’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Hillman Solutions is more favorable than United Rentals.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.1% of Hillman Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.3% of United Rentals shares are held by institutional investors. 4.9% of Hillman Solutions shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of United Rentals shares are held by 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.

Volatility & Risk

Hillman Solutions has a beta of 1.65, indicating that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Rentals has a beta of 1.73, indicating that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hillman Solutions and United Rentals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hillman Solutions	$1.47 billion	1.24	$17.25 million	$0.11	83.73
United Rentals	$15.35 billion	4.12	$2.58 billion	$38.67	25.40

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

Profitability

This table compares Hillman Solutions and United Rentals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hillman Solutions	1.44%	8.86%	4.47%
United Rentals	16.11%	32.01%	9.85%

Summary

United Rentals beats Hillman Solutions on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hillman Solutions

Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hillman is a leading North American provider of complete hardware solutions, delivered with industry best customer service to over 40,000 locations. Hillman designs innovative product and merchandising solutions for complex categories that deliver an outstanding customer experience to home improvement centers, mass merchants, national and regional hardware stores, pet supply stores, and OEM & Industrial customers. Leveraging a world-class distribution and sales network, Hillman delivers a “small business” experience with “big business” efficiency.

About United Rentals

United Rentals, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an equipment rental company. It operates in two segments, General Rentals and Specialty. The General Rentals segment rents general construction and industrial equipment includes backhoes, skid-steer loaders, forklifts, earthmoving equipment, and material handling equipment; aerial work platforms, such as boom and scissor lifts; and general tools and light equipment comprising pressure washers, water pumps, and power tools for construction and industrial companies, manufacturers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and government entities. The specialty segment rents specialty construction products, including trench safety equipment consists of trench shields, aluminum hydraulic shoring systems, slide rails, crossing plates, construction lasers, and line testing equipment for underground work; power and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning equipment, such as portable diesel generators, electrical distribution equipment, and temperature control equipment; fluid solutions equipment for fluid containment, transfer, and treatment; and mobile storage equipment and modular office space. This segment serves construction companies involved in infrastructure projects, and municipalities and industrial companies. It also sells aerial lifts, reach forklifts, telehandlers, compressors, and generators; construction consumables, tools, small equipment, and safety supplies; and parts for equipment that is owned by its customers, as well as provides repair and maintenance services. The company sells used equipment through its sales force, brokers, website, at auctions, and directly to manufacturers. The company operates in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. United Rentals, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.