Head-To-Head Contrast: Xometry (NASDAQ:XMTR) vs. Ferguson (NYSE:FERG)

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) and Xometry (NASDAQ:XMTR) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ferguson and Xometry, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ferguson	0	6	11	2	2.79
Xometry	1	4	5	0	2.40

Ferguson currently has a consensus price target of $253.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.55%. Xometry has a consensus price target of $57.89, indicating a potential downside of 10.76%. Given Ferguson’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Ferguson is more favorable than Xometry.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.0% of Ferguson shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Xometry shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Ferguson shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of Xometry shares are held by company 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.

Profitability

This table compares Ferguson and Xometry’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ferguson	6.28%	35.73%	11.82%
Xometry	-9.80%	-6.59%	-2.80%

Risk and Volatility

Ferguson has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xometry has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ferguson and Xometry”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ferguson	$30.76 billion	1.60	$1.86 billion	$9.90	25.42
Xometry	$545.53 million	6.09	-$50.40 million	($1.25)	-51.90

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

Summary

Ferguson beats Xometry on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ferguson

Ferguson Enterprises Inc. distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers. It also supplies specialist water and wastewater treatment products to residential, commercial, and infrastructure contractors, as well as supplies pipe, valves, and fittings solutions to industrial customers. In addition, it offers customized solutions, such as virtual design, fabrication, valve actuation, pre-assembly, kitting, installation, and project management services, as well as after-sales support that comprises warranty, credit, project-based billing, returns and maintenance, and repair and operations support. The company sells its products through a network of distribution centers, branches, counter service and specialist sales associates, showroom consultants, and e-commerce channels. Ferguson Enterprises Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Newport News, Virginia.

About Xometry

Xometry, Inc. operates an online marketplace that enables buyers to source custom-manufactured parts and assemblies in the United States and internationally. It provides computer numerical control manufacturing, sheet metal forming, and sheet cutting; 3D printing, including fused deposition modeling, direct metal laser sintering, PolyJet, stereolithography, selective laser sintering, binder jetting, carbon digital light synthesis, multi jet fusion, and lubricant sublayer photo-curing; and die casting, stamping, injection molding, urethane casting, tube cutting, and tube bending, as well as finishing services, rapid prototyping, and high-volume production services. It serves aerospace, healthcare, robotics, industrial, defense, energy, automotive, government, education, and consumer goods industries. The company was formerly known as NextLine Manufacturing Corp. and changed its name to Xometry, Inc. in June 2015. Xometry, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland.