Sims Metal Management (OTCMKTS:SMSMY) versus Concrete Pumping (NASDAQ:BBCP) Critical Contrast

Concrete Pumping (NASDAQ:BBCP) and Sims Metal Management (OTCMKTS:SMSMY) are both business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

34.2% of Concrete Pumping shares are held by institutional investors. 28.2% of Concrete Pumping shares are held 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 breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Concrete Pumping and Sims Metal Management, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Concrete Pumping	0	3	1	0	2.25
Sims Metal Management	0	1	0	0	2.00

Concrete Pumping currently has a consensus target price of $8.25, suggesting a potential upside of 20.79%. Given Concrete Pumping’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Concrete Pumping is more favorable than Sims Metal Management.

Volatility and Risk

Concrete Pumping has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sims Metal Management has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Concrete Pumping and Sims Metal Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Concrete Pumping	1.65%	2.50%	0.75%
Sims Metal Management	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Concrete Pumping and Sims Metal Management”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Concrete Pumping	$392.87 million	0.88	$6.37 million	$0.09	75.89
Sims Metal Management	$4.85 billion	0.52	-$12.30 million	N/A	N/A

Concrete Pumping has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Sims Metal Management.

Summary

Concrete Pumping beats Sims Metal Management on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Concrete Pumping

Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. provides concrete pumping and waste management services in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company offers concrete pumping services to general contractors and concrete finishing companies in the commercial, infrastructure, and residential sectors under the Brundage-Bone and Capital Pumping brands; and industrial cleanup and containment services primarily to customers in the construction industry under the Eco-Pan brand. It leases and rents concrete pumping equipment, pans, and containers. As of October 31, 2023, the company owned a fleet of approximately 930 boom pumps, 90 placing booms, 20 telebelts, 300 stationary pumps, and 115 waste management trucks. Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado.

About Sims Metal Management

Sims Limited engages in buying, processing, and selling ferrous and non-ferrous recycled metals in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Turkey, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through six segments: North America Metals, Investment in SA Recycling, Australia/New Zealand Metals, UK Metals, Global Trading, and Sims Lifecycle Services. It is involved in the collection, processing, and trading of iron and steel secondary raw materials; and other metal alloys and residues, principally aluminum, lead, copper, zinc, and nickel bearing materials. The company also engages in the provision of environmentally responsible solutions for the disposal of post-consumer electronic products, such as information technology assets recycled for commercial customers; and environmentally responsible recycling of negative value materials, including electronic equipment. In addition, it provides secondary processing and other services comprising recycling of municipal curbside materials, stevedoring, and other sources of service. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Mascot, Australia.