Astec Industries (ASTE) Competitors

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

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 better valuation & 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	5.82	$3.79B	$9.94	37.44
Astec Industries	$1.31B	0.83	$4.30M	$1.99	23.91

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 1.1%. 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.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in ETN or ASTE?

83.0% of Eaton shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Eaton shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Astec Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, ETN or ASTE?

Eaton has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astec Industries has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to ETN or ASTE?

In the previous week, Eaton had 12 more articles in the media than Astec Industries. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Eaton and 3 mentions for Astec Industries. Astec Industries' average media sentiment score of 1.03 beat Eaton's score of 0.59 indicating that Astec Industries is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Eaton	9 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Astec Industries	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer ETN or ASTE?

Eaton presently has a consensus target price of $390.68, indicating a potential upside of 4.97%. Astec Industries has a consensus target price of $41.00, indicating a potential downside of 13.85%. Given Eaton's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly 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)	17 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.79
Astec Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Summary

Eaton beats Astec Industries on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.