Nordson (NDSN) Competitors

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) and Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, profitability and risk.

Do analysts recommend LECO or NDSN?

Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus target price of $231.40, indicating a potential downside of 4.42%. Nordson has a consensus target price of $254.86, indicating a potential upside of 18.10%. Given Nordson's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Nordson is more favorable than Lincoln Electric.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lincoln Electric	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
Nordson	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Is LECO or NDSN a better dividend stock?

Lincoln Electric pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nordson pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Lincoln Electric pays out 33.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nordson pays out 40.1% 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. Lincoln Electric has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years and Nordson has raised its dividend for 62 consecutive years. Nordson is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media favor LECO or NDSN?

In the previous week, Lincoln Electric had 9 more articles in the media than Nordson. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Lincoln Electric and 10 mentions for Nordson. Nordson's average media sentiment score of 1.71 beat Lincoln Electric's score of 1.14 indicating that Nordson is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Lincoln Electric	12 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Nordson	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is LECO or NDSN more profitable?

Nordson has a net margin of 16.51% compared to Lincoln Electric's net margin of 12.27%. Lincoln Electric's return on equity of 39.79% beat Nordson's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lincoln Electric	12.27%	39.79%	14.74%
Nordson	16.51%	19.10%	9.60%

Do institutionals & insiders believe in LECO or NDSN?

79.6% of Lincoln Electric shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.1% of Nordson shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Lincoln Electric shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Nordson shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, LECO or NDSN?

Lincoln Electric has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nordson has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, LECO or NDSN?

Nordson has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Lincoln Electric. Lincoln Electric is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nordson, 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
Lincoln Electric	$4.01B	3.33	$466.11M	$8.90	27.20
Nordson	$2.69B	4.53	$467.28M	$7.78	27.74

Summary

Nordson beats Lincoln Electric on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.