Head to Head Comparison: Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) and Dover (NYSE:DOV)

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) and Dover (NYSE:DOV) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

72.1% of Nordson shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.5% of Dover shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Nordson shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Dover shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Nordson has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dover has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Nordson and Dover, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nordson	0	4	4	0	2.50
Dover	0	5	8	0	2.62

Nordson presently has a consensus target price of $311.50, suggesting a potential upside of 16.42%. Dover has a consensus target price of $224.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.85%. Given Nordson’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Nordson is more favorable than Dover.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nordson and Dover”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nordson	$2.79 billion	5.35	$484.47 million	$9.26	28.90
Dover	$8.09 billion	3.40	$1.09 billion	$7.94	25.68

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

Profitability

This table compares Nordson and Dover’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nordson	18.39%	19.73%	9.97%
Dover	13.52%	17.87%	10.06%

Dividends

Nordson pays an annual dividend of $3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Dover pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nordson pays out 35.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Dover pays out 26.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Nordson has raised its dividend for 62 consecutive years and Dover has raised its dividend for 70 consecutive years.

Summary

Dover beats Nordson on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nordson

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions. The Industrial Precision Solutions segment provides dispensing, coating, and laminating systems for adhesives, lotions, liquids, and fibers to disposable products and roll goods; automated adhesive dispensing systems used in packaged goods industries; components and systems used in the thermoplastic and biopolymer melt stream; precision agriculture spraying solutions; fluid components, such as nozzles, pumps, and filters; and product assembly systems for use in paper and paperboard converting applications, and manufacturing roll goods. It also offers automated and manual dispensing products and systems for cold materials, container coating, liquid finishing, and powder coating, as well as ultraviolet equipment used primarily in curing and drying operations. The Medical and Fluid Solutions segment offers medical devices, including cannulas, catheters, and medical balloons; single-use plastic components; precision manual and semi-automated dispensers; minimally invasive interventional delivery devices; and plastic molded syringes, cartridges, tips, and fluid connection components. The Advanced Technology Solutions segment provides automated dispensing systems for the attachment, protection, and coating of fluids, as well as related gas plasma treatment systems for cleaning and conditioning surfaces; and bond testing and automated optical, acoustic microscopy, and x-ray inspection systems for use in semiconductor and printed circuit board industries. The company markets its products through direct sales force, as well as distributors and sales representatives. Nordson Corporation was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Westlake, Ohio.

About Dover

Dover Corporation provides equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services worldwide. The company's Engineered Products segment provides various equipment, component, software, solution, and services that are used in vehicle aftermarket, waste handling, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, industrial winch and hoist, and fluid dispensing end-market. This segment offers manual and power clamp, rotary and linear mechanical indexer, conveyor, pick and place unit, glove port, and manipulator, as well as end-of-arm robotic gripper, slide, and end effector; winches, hoists, bearings, drives, and electric monitoring system; and radio frequency and microwave filters and switches, and signal intelligence solutions. Its Clean Energy & Fueling segment offers component, equipment, and software and service solution enabling safe storage and transport of fuel, cryogenic gases, and hazardous fluids, as well as operation of retail fueling and vehicle wash establishment. The company's Imaging & Identification segment provides precision marking and coding, product traceability equipment, brand protection, and digital textile printing equipment and solution, as well as related consumable, software, and service to packaged and consumer goods, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, fashion and apparel, and other end-market. Its Pumps & Process Solutions segment manufactures specialty pump, connector, flow meter, fluid connecting solution, plastics and polymer processing equipment, and engineered components for rotating and reciprocating machines. The company's Climate & Sustainability Technologies segment manufactures refrigeration system, refrigeration display case, commercial glass refrigerator and freezer door, and brazed plate heat exchanger for industrial heating and cooling, and residential climate control applications. The company was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois.