Critical Analysis: Broadwind Energy (NASDAQ:BWEN) & Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG)

Broadwind Energy (NASDAQ:BWEN) and Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Broadwind Energy and Alta Equipment Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Broadwind Energy	$143.14 million	0.35	$1.15 million	$0.22	9.91
Alta Equipment Group	$1.88 billion	0.11	-$62.10 million	($2.51)	-2.66

Broadwind Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Alta Equipment Group. Alta Equipment Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Broadwind Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Broadwind Energy and Alta Equipment Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Broadwind Energy	3.37%	-2.05%	-0.99%
Alta Equipment Group	-4.34%	-175.61%	-5.41%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

33.3% of Broadwind Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.6% of Alta Equipment Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.4% of Broadwind Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.2% of Alta Equipment Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Broadwind Energy and Alta Equipment Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Broadwind Energy	0	2	2	0	2.50
Alta Equipment Group	1	3	1	1	2.33

Broadwind Energy currently has a consensus price target of $4.50, indicating a potential upside of 106.42%. Alta Equipment Group has a consensus price target of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 64.79%. Given Broadwind Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Broadwind Energy is more favorable than Alta Equipment Group.

Risk & Volatility

Broadwind Energy has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alta Equipment Group has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Broadwind Energy beats Alta Equipment Group on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Broadwind Energy

Broadwind, Inc. manufactures and sells structures, equipment, and components for clean tech and other specialized applications primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: Heavy Fabrications, Gearing, and Industrial Solutions. The Heavy Fabrications segment provides fabrications to various industrial markets. It offers steel towers and adapters primarily to wind turbine manufacturers. Its Gearing segment provides gearing, gearboxes, and precision machined components to a range of customers in diverse markets, including surface and underground mining, wind energy, steel, material handling, infrastructure, onshore and offshore oil and gas fracking and drilling, marine, and other industrial markets. This segment also offers heat treat services for aftermarket and original equipment manufacturer applications. The Industrial Solutions segment provides supply chain solutions for offering instrumentation and controls, valve assemblies, sensor devices, fuel system components, electrical junction boxes and wiring, energy storage services, and electromechanical devices; light fabrication, inventory management, and kitting and assembly services; packaging solutions; and supply chain solutions, light fabrication, inventory management, and kitting and assembly services for combined cycle natural gas turbine market. It sells its products to the energy, mining, and infrastructure sectors through its direct sales force and independent sales agents. The company was formerly known as Broadwind Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Broadwind, Inc. in May 2020. Broadwind, Inc. is headquartered in Cicero, Illinois.

About Alta Equipment Group

Alta Equipment Group Inc. owns and operates integrated equipment dealership platforms in the United States. It operates through three segments: Material Handling, Construction Equipment, and Master Distribution. The company operates a branch network that sells, rents, and provides parts and service support for various categories of specialized equipment, including lift trucks and other material handling equipment, heavy and compact earthmoving equipment, crushing and screening equipment, environmental processing equipment, cranes and aerial work platforms, paving and asphalt equipment, and other construction equipment and related products. It also offers repair and maintenance services for its equipment. In addition, the company designs and builds warehouses; provides automated equipment installation and system integration solutions; and distributes environmental processing equipment. It serves various manufacturing, food and beverage, automotive, municipal/government, education, pharmaceutical and medical, wholesale and retail distribution, construction, agriculture, road building, mining, recycling, and waste management sectors. Alta Equipment Group Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Livonia, Michigan.