Outokumpu (OTCMKTS:OUTKY – Get Free Report) and L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR – Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.
Risk and Volatility
Outokumpu has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, L.B. Foster has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Outokumpu and L.B. Foster”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Outokumpu | $6.43 billion | 0.33 | -$43.28 million | ($0.05) | -45.40 |
| L.B. Foster | $530.77 million | 0.53 | $42.95 million | $3.32 | 7.96 |
L.B. Foster has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Outokumpu. Outokumpu is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than L.B. Foster, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
80.6% of L.B. Foster shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.7% of L.B. Foster shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Outokumpu and L.B. Foster, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Outokumpu | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.75 |
| L.B. Foster | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.67 |
L.B. Foster has a consensus target price of $25.00, indicating a potential downside of 5.45%. Given L.B. Foster’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe L.B. Foster is more favorable than Outokumpu.
Profitability
This table compares Outokumpu and L.B. Foster’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Outokumpu | -0.82% | -1.33% | -0.82% |
| L.B. Foster | 7.19% | 3.64% | 1.88% |
Summary
L.B. Foster beats Outokumpu on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Outokumpu
Outokumpu Oyj produces and sells various stainless steel products in Finland, other European countries, North America, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Europe, Americas, and Ferrochrome. It offers cold rolled coils, strips, and sheets; hot rolled coils, strips, and plates; quarto plates; precision strips; and specialized components, such as welded stainless-steel I-beams, H-beams, hollow-section tubes, bent profiles, structural sections, hardened and customized press plates, suction roll shells, and blancs and disks. The company also provides stainless steel powder which includes Supra 316L, Dura 17-4PH, Ultra 904L, Therma 253MA, Dura 4116, and Ni-free austenitic stainless steel powder; and nickel-based alloys. Its products are used in various applications, including commercial kitchen, cooking, food industry, and home appliances; automotive and transportation; building and infrastructure; energy; marine; and heavy industries. The company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.
About L.B. Foster
L.B. Foster Company provides engineered and manufactured products and services for the building and infrastructure projects in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Rail, Technologies, and Services; and Infrastructure Solutions. The Rail, Technologies, and Services segment offers new rail to passenger and short line freight railroads, industrial companies, and rail contractors, as well as used rails; rail accessories, such as rack spikes, bolts, angle bars, tie plates, and other products; insulated rail joints and related accessories; fixation fasteners, coverboards, and special accessories; and trackwork products. This segment also provides engineered concrete railroad ties, friction management products and application systems, railroad condition monitoring systems and equipment including wheel impact load detection systems, wayside data collection and management systems, and rockfall, flood, earthworks, and bridge strike monitoring; and aftermarket services. The Infrastructure Solutions segment manufactures precast concrete products for use as restrooms, concession stands, and protective storage buildings under the CXT brand for national, state, and municipal parks; and manufactures sounds walls, bridge beams, box culverts, septic tanks, and other custom pre-stressed and precast concrete products. This segment also provides steel bridge products; corrosion protection solutions; concrete-reinforced steel grid decking, open steel grid deck, aluminum bridge railing, and stay-in-place steel bridge forms; cuts, threads, and paints pipe; threading services for water well applications; protective pipeline coating services; and turnkey solutions for metering and injection systems for oil and gas markets. L.B. Foster Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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