Critical Survey: A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) and JNS (OTCMKTS:JNSH)

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) and JNS (OTCMKTS:JNSH) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

76.1% of A. O. Smith shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of A. O. Smith shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for A. O. Smith and JNS, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
A. O. Smith	0	6	2	0	2.25
JNS	0	0	0	0	0.00

A. O. Smith presently has a consensus price target of $77.43, suggesting a potential upside of 5.52%. Given A. O. Smith’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe A. O. Smith is more favorable than JNS.

Profitability

This table compares A. O. Smith and JNS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
A. O. Smith	13.68%	28.42%	16.52%
JNS	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares A. O. Smith and JNS”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
A. O. Smith	$3.82 billion	2.69	$533.60 million	$3.59	20.44
JNS	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

A. O. Smith has higher revenue and earnings than JNS.

Risk and Volatility

A. O. Smith has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, JNS has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

A. O. Smith beats JNS on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices. It also provides commercial water treatment and filtration product; expansion tanks, commercial solar water heating systems, swimming pool and spa heaters, and related products and parts; and electric wall-hung, gas tankless, combi-boiler, and heat pump and solar water heaters. The company offers its products under the A. O. Smith, State, Lochinvar, Hague, Water-Right, Master Water, Atlantic Filter, and Water Tec brands. It distributes its products through independent wholesale plumbing distributors, as well as to retail channels consisting of hardware and home center chains, and manufacturer representative firms; and offers Aquasana branded products directly to consumers through e-commerce channels. A. O. Smith Corporation was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About JNS

JNS Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electrical design build construction services contractor in the United States. The company is based in Wheeling, Illinois.