Astec Industries (ASTE) Competitors

Eaton (NYSE:ETN) and Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, media sentiment, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Is ETN or ASTE a better dividend stock?

Eaton pays an annual dividend of $4.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Eaton pays out 41.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Astec Industries pays out 26.1% 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. Astec Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media prefer ETN or ASTE?

In the previous week, Eaton had 65 more articles in the media than Astec Industries. MarketBeat recorded 77 mentions for Eaton and 12 mentions for Astec Industries. Eaton's average media sentiment score of 1.18 beat Astec Industries' score of 0.40 indicating that Eaton is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Eaton	58 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Astec Industries	0 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is ETN or ASTE more profitable?

Eaton has a net margin of 15.11% compared to Astec Industries' net margin of 3.50%. Eaton's return on equity of 23.91% beat Astec Industries' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eaton	15.11%	23.91%	11.38%
Astec Industries	3.50%	11.52%	7.07%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, ETN or ASTE?

Eaton has higher revenue and earnings than Astec Industries. Astec Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eaton, 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
Eaton	$24.88B	5.68	$3.79B	$9.94	36.54
Astec Industries	$1.31B	0.78	$4.30M	$1.99	22.40

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ETN or ASTE?

83.0% of Eaton shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Astec Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Eaton shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Astec Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer ETN or ASTE?

Eaton currently has a consensus target price of $383.63, indicating a potential upside of 5.62%. Astec Industries has a consensus target price of $41.00, indicating a potential downside of 8.01%. Given Eaton's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Eaton is more favorable than Astec Industries.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eaton	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70
Astec Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has more volatility and risk, ETN or ASTE?

Eaton has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astec Industries has a beta of 1.43, indicating that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Eaton beats Astec Industries on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.