Comparing DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) and CVD Equipment (NASDAQ:CVV)

DNOW (NYSE:DNOW) and CVD Equipment (NASDAQ:CVV) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.6% of DNOW shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.6% of CVD Equipment shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of DNOW shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 28.7% of CVD Equipment 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

DNOW has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CVD Equipment has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares DNOW and CVD Equipment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DNOW	-2.66%	7.26%	4.68%
CVD Equipment	-0.66%	-0.72%	-0.60%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares DNOW and CVD Equipment”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DNOW	$2.82 billion	0.46	-$89.00 million	($0.29)	-42.59
CVD Equipment	$26.88 million	0.91	-$1.90 million	($0.02)	-177.00

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for DNOW and CVD Equipment, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DNOW	1	1	2	0	2.25
CVD Equipment	1	0	0	0	1.00

DNOW currently has a consensus price target of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 37.65%. Given DNOW’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe DNOW is more favorable than CVD Equipment.

Summary

DNOW beats CVD Equipment on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DNOW

DNOW Inc. distributes downstream energy and industrial products for petroleum refining, chemical processing, LNG terminals, power generation utilities, and customer on-site locations in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company provides consumable maintenance, repair, and operating supplies; pipes, manual and automated valves, fittings, flanges, gaskets, fasteners, electrical instrumentations, artificial lift, pumping solutions, valve actuation and modular process, and measurement and control equipment; and mill supplies, tools, safety supplies, and personal protective equipment, as well as artificial lift systems, coatings, and miscellaneous expendable items. It also offers original equipment manufacturer equipment, including pumps, generator sets, air compressors, dryers, blowers, mixers, and valves; modular oil and gas tank battery solutions; and application systems, work processes, parts integration, optimization solutions, and after-sales support services. In addition, the company provides supply chain and materials management; inventory planning and management, procurement, and warehouse management, as well as solutions for logistics, point of issue technology, project management, business process, and performance metrics reporting services. It serves customers in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of the energy industry, including drilling contractors, well-servicing companies, independent and national oil and gas companies, midstream operators, and refineries, as well as petrochemical, chemical, utilities, RNG facilities, and other downstream energy processors; and industrial and manufacturing companies. The company was formerly known as NOW Inc. and changed its name to DNOW Inc. in January 2024. DNOW Inc. was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About CVD Equipment

CVD Equipment Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells equipment to develop and manufacture materials and coatings in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: CVD Equipment, Stainless Design Concepts, and CVD Materials. The CVD Equipment segment offers chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor transport, and thermal process equipment under the FirstNano brand for various markets, such as high power electronics, aerospace advanced materials for gas turbine jet engines, and nanomaterials used in batteries, as well as semiconductors, LEDs, carbon nanotubes, nanowires, solar cells, and other industrial and research applications. The Stainless Design Concepts segment provides ultra-high purity gas and chemical delivery control systems, including gas cylinder storage cabinets, custom gas and chemical delivery systems, gas and liquid valve manifold boxes, and gas isolation boxes for semiconductor fabrication processes, aerospace, solar cells, LEDs, carbon nanotubes, nanowires, and industrial applications. The CVD Materials segment offers products related to advanced materials and coatings, such as MesoPlasma printing services and products comprising heaters, antennas, and sensors to aerospace, satellite, power generation, defense, and other markets. The company also provides annealing, diffusion, and low pressure chemical vapor deposition furnaces; and standard and custom fabricated quartz-ware used in its equipment and other customer tools. The company was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Central Islip, New York.