Comparing Standex International (NYSE:SXI) & DXP Enterprises (NASDAQ:DXPE)

Standex International (NYSE:SXI) and DXP Enterprises (NASDAQ:DXPE) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Standex International and DXP Enterprises, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Standex International	0	1	4	0	2.80
DXP Enterprises	0	0	3	0	3.00

Standex International currently has a consensus price target of $281.33, suggesting a potential upside of 10.43%. DXP Enterprises has a consensus price target of $95.00, suggesting a potential downside of 36.50%. Given Standex International’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Standex International is more favorable than DXP Enterprises.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.4% of Standex International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.8% of DXP Enterprises shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Standex International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 22.7% of DXP Enterprises shares are held by 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.

Volatility & Risk

Standex International has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DXP Enterprises has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Standex International and DXP Enterprises”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Standex International	$790.11 million	3.91	$55.76 million	$4.46	57.12
DXP Enterprises	$1.80 billion	1.30	$70.49 million	$5.28	28.34

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

Profitability

This table compares Standex International and DXP Enterprises’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Standex International	6.20%	14.29%	6.44%
DXP Enterprises	4.45%	19.62%	6.40%

Summary

Standex International beats DXP Enterprises on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Standex International

Standex International Corporation, together with subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of various products and services for commercial and industrial markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through five segments: Electronics, Engraving, Scientific, Engineering Technologies, and Specialty Solutions. The Electronics segment offers reed relays, fluid level, proximity, motion, flow, HVAC condensate, and custom electronics sensors; and custom wound transformers and inductors for low and high frequency, current sense technology, advanced planar transformer technology, value added assembly, and mechanical packaging applications under the Standex Electronics, Renco, and Agile Magnetics. The Engraving segment provides mold texturizing, slush molding tools, roll engraving, hygiene product tooling, and low observation vents, as well as project management and design services for stealth aircraft; and process machinery for various industries under the Piazza Rosa, World Client Services, Tenibac-Graphion, GS Engineering, and Innovent brand names. The Scientific segment offers temperature-controlled equipment for the medical, scientific, pharmaceutical, biotech, and industrial markets under the American BioTech Supply, Lab Research Products, Corepoint, Cryosafe, CryoGuard, and Scientific brands. The Engineering Technologies segment offers net and near net formed single-source customized solutions that are used in the manufacture of engineered components for the aviation, aerospace, defense, energy, industrial, medical, marine, oil and gas, and manned and unmanned space markets under the Spincraft brand. The Specialty Solutions segment manufactures and sells refrigerated, heated, and dry merchandizing display cases; and single and double acting telescopic, and piston rod hydraulic cylinders under the Federal and Custom Hoist brands. The company was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Salem, New Hampshire.

About DXP Enterprises

DXP Enterprises, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in distributing maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products, equipment, and services in the United States and Canada. It operates through three segments: Service Centers (SC), Supply Chain Services (SCS), and Innovative Pumping Solutions (IPS). The SC segment offers MRO products, equipment, and integrated services, including technical expertise and logistics services. It offers a range of MRO products in the rotating equipment, bearing, power transmission, hose, fluid power, metal working, fastener, industrial supply, safety products, and safety services categories. This segment serves customers in the oil and gas, food and beverage, petrochemical, transportation, other general industrial, mining, construction, chemical, municipal, agriculture, and pulp and paper industries. The SCS segment manages procurement and inventory vinventory optimization and management, storeroom management, transaction consolidation and control, vendor oversight and procurement cost optimization, productivity improvement, and customized reporting services. Its programs include SmartAgreement, a procurement solution for various MRO categories; SmartBuy, an on-site or centralized MRO procurement solution; SmartSource, an on-site procurement and storeroom management solution; SmartStore, an e-Catalog solution; SmartVend, an industrial dispensing solution; and SmartServ, an integrated service pump solution. The IPS segment fabricates and assembles custom-made pump packages; remanufactures pumps; and manufactures branded private label pumps. DXP Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1908 and is based in Houston, Texas.