Head-To-Head Comparison: Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) and Ampco-Pittsburgh (NYSE:AP)

Ampco-Pittsburgh (NYSE:AP) and Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Dividends

Ampco-Pittsburgh pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 16.5%. Kaiser Aluminum pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Ampco-Pittsburgh pays out -150.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kaiser Aluminum pays out 79.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ampco-Pittsburgh is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ampco-Pittsburgh and Kaiser Aluminum”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ampco-Pittsburgh	$414.47 million	0.11	$440,000.00	($0.24)	-9.08
Kaiser Aluminum	$3.11 billion	0.41	$46.80 million	$3.89	20.50

Kaiser Aluminum has higher revenue and earnings than Ampco-Pittsburgh. Ampco-Pittsburgh is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kaiser Aluminum, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Ampco-Pittsburgh and Kaiser Aluminum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ampco-Pittsburgh	-1.22%	1.40%	0.19%
Kaiser Aluminum	2.05%	8.03%	2.41%

Risk & Volatility

Ampco-Pittsburgh has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kaiser Aluminum has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Ampco-Pittsburgh and Kaiser Aluminum, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ampco-Pittsburgh	1	0	0	0	1.00
Kaiser Aluminum	0	4	2	0	2.33

Kaiser Aluminum has a consensus price target of $82.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.82%. Given Kaiser Aluminum’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Kaiser Aluminum is more favorable than Ampco-Pittsburgh.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

49.2% of Ampco-Pittsburgh shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.3% of Kaiser Aluminum shares are held by institutional investors. 31.6% of Ampco-Pittsburgh shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Kaiser Aluminum shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Kaiser Aluminum beats Ampco-Pittsburgh on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ampco-Pittsburgh

Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in manufacture and sale of specialty metal products and customized equipment to commercial and industrial users worldwide. The company operates through Forged and Cast Engineered Products (FCEP); and Air and Liquid Processing (ALP) segments. The FCEP segment produces forged hardened steel rolls, cast rolls and, forged engineered products that are used in cold rolling mills by producers of steel, aluminum, and other metals; cast rolls for hot strip mills, medium/heavy section mills, roughing mills, and plate mills; and forged engineered products for narrow and wide strip and aluminum mills, back-up rolls for narrow strip mills, and leveling rolls and shafts. The ALP segment produces custom-engineered finned tube heat exchange coils and related heat transfer products for various industries, including OEM/commercial, nuclear power generation, and industrial manufacturing; custom-designed air handling systems for institutional, pharmaceutical, and general industrial building markets; and manufacture centrifugal pumps for the fossil fueled power generation, marine defense, and industrial refrigeration industries. Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation was incorporated in 1929 and is headquartered in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.

About Kaiser Aluminum

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in manufacture and sale of semi-fabricated specialty aluminum mill products in the United States and internationally. It offers rolled, extruded, and drawn aluminum products used for aerospace and defense, aluminum beverage and food packaging, automotive and general engineering products. The company's automotive extrusions include extruded aluminum products for structural components, crash management systems, anti-lock braking systems, and drawn tubes for drive shafts, as well as offers fabrication services, including sawing and cutting to length. Its packaging products consist of bare and coated 3000- and 5000-series alloy aluminum coil used for beverage and food packaging industry. In addition, the company's general engineering products comprise alloy plate, sheet, rod, bar, tube, wire, and standard extrusion shapes used in various applications, including the production of military vehicles, ordnances, semiconductor manufacturing cells, electronic devices, after-market motor sport parts, tooling plates, parts for machinery and equipment, bolts, screws, nails, and rivets. Further, its rerolled, extruded, drawn, and cast billet aluminum products used for industrial end uses. The company sells its products directly to customers through sales personnel located in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and China, as well as through independent sales agents in other regions of Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Kaiser Aluminum Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee.