The Alumasc Group (ALU) Competitors

Norcros (LON:NXR) and The Alumasc Group (LON:ALU) 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, community ranking, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Is NXR or ALU a better dividend stock?

Norcros pays an annual dividend of GBX 10 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. The Alumasc Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 11 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Norcros pays out 33.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. The Alumasc Group pays out 44.9% 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. Norcros is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts recommend NXR or ALU?

Norcros currently has a consensus price target of GBX 362.50, suggesting a potential upside of 40.48%. Given Norcros' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Norcros is more favorable than The Alumasc Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Norcros	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
The Alumasc Group	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has more volatility & risk, NXR or ALU?

Norcros has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, The Alumasc Group has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is NXR or ALU more profitable?

The Alumasc Group has a net margin of 8.69% compared to Norcros' net margin of 6.83%. The Alumasc Group's return on equity of 29.24% beat Norcros' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Norcros	6.83%	12.35%	6.15%
The Alumasc Group	8.69%	29.24%	11.16%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, NXR or ALU?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Norcros	£392.22M	0.59	£26.81M	£30.11	8.57
The Alumasc Group	£99.64M	1.35	£8.65M	£24.47	15.42

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of NXR or ALU?

68.2% of Norcros shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.8% of The Alumasc Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.0% of Norcros shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 47.2% of The Alumasc Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in NXR or ALU?

The Alumasc Group received 156 more outperform votes than Norcros when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 86.52% of users gave Norcros an outperform vote while only 82.92% of users gave The Alumasc Group an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Norcros	Outperform Votes 276 86.52%	Underperform Votes 43 13.48%
The Alumasc Group	Outperform Votes 432 82.92%	Underperform Votes 89 17.08%

Does the media prefer NXR or ALU?

In the previous week, Norcros had 3 more articles in the media than The Alumasc Group. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Norcros and 0 mentions for The Alumasc Group. Norcros' average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat The Alumasc Group's score of 0.37 indicating that Norcros is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Norcros	Positive
The Alumasc Group	Neutral

Summary

Norcros beats The Alumasc Group on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.