GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) versus Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) Financial Comparison

GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) and Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for GrafTech International and Mueller Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GrafTech International	1	5	0	0	1.83
Mueller Industries	0	0	1	0	3.00

GrafTech International presently has a consensus target price of $14.25, suggesting a potential downside of 17.63%. Given GrafTech International’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe GrafTech International is more favorable than Mueller Industries.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.8% of GrafTech International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.5% of Mueller Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of GrafTech International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Mueller Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares GrafTech International and Mueller Industries”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GrafTech International	$538.78 million	0.83	-$131.16 million	($7.90)	-2.19
Mueller Industries	$4.14 billion	3.19	$604.88 million	$6.70	17.78

Mueller Industries has higher revenue and earnings than GrafTech International. GrafTech International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mueller Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

GrafTech International has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mueller Industries has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares GrafTech International and Mueller Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GrafTech International	-39.13%	N/A	-11.72%
Mueller Industries	18.10%	25.02%	21.04%

Summary

Mueller Industries beats GrafTech International on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GrafTech International

GrafTech International Ltd. research, develops, manufactures, and sells graphite and carbon-based solutions worldwide. The company offers graphite electrodes to produce electric arc furnace steel and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals; and petroleum needle coke, a crystalline form of carbon used in the production of graphite electrodes and synthetic graphite. It sells its products primarily through direct sales force, independent sales representatives, and distributors. GrafTech International Ltd. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio.

About Mueller Industries

Mueller Industries, Inc. manufactures and sells copper, brass, aluminum, and plastic products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, the Middle East, China, and Mexico. It operates through three segments: Piping Systems, Industrial Metals, and Climate. The Piping Systems segment offers copper tubes, fittings, line sets, and pipe nipples. It also resells steel pipes, brass and plastic plumbing valves, malleable iron fittings and faucets, and plumbing specialties; and supplies water tubes. This segment sells its products to wholesalers in the plumbing and refrigeration markets, distributors to the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries, building material retailers, and air-conditioning original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Industrial Metals segment manufactures brass, bronze, and copper alloy rods; plumbing brass, valves, fittings, and gas assemblies; cold-form aluminum and copper products; machining of aluminum, steel, brass, and cast iron impacts and castings; brass and aluminum forgings; brass, aluminum, and stainless-steel valves; fluid control solutions; and gas train assembles to OEMs in the industrial, construction, HVAC, plumbing, and refrigeration markets. The Climate segment offers valves, protection devices, and brass fittings for various OEMs in the commercial HVAC and refrigeration markets; high-pressure components and accessories for the air-conditioning and refrigeration markets; coaxial heat exchangers and twisted tubes for the HVAC, geothermal, refrigeration, swimming pool heat pump, marine, ice machine, commercial boiler, and heat reclamation markets; and insulated HVAC flexible duct systems. Mueller Industries, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Collierville, Tennessee.