Olympic Steel (ZEUS) Competitors

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) and Olympic Steel (NASDAQ:ZEUS) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Does the media favor LIN or ZEUS?

In the previous week, Linde had 24 more articles in the media than Olympic Steel. MarketBeat recorded 28 mentions for Linde and 4 mentions for Olympic Steel. Linde's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat Olympic Steel's score of 0.88 indicating that Linde is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Linde	25 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Olympic Steel	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders believe in LIN or ZEUS?

82.8% of Linde shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.1% of Olympic Steel shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Linde shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.8% of Olympic Steel shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, LIN or ZEUS?

Linde has higher revenue and earnings than Olympic Steel. Olympic Steel is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Linde, 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
Linde	$33.01B	6.39	$6.57B	$14.06	32.01
Olympic Steel	$1.88B	0.18	$22.98M	$1.22	24.07

Is LIN or ZEUS more profitable?

Linde has a net margin of 20.20% compared to Olympic Steel's net margin of 0.77%. Linde's return on equity of 19.09% beat Olympic Steel's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Linde	20.20%	19.09%	9.19%
Olympic Steel	0.77%	1.95%	1.07%

Which has more volatility and risk, LIN or ZEUS?

Linde has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Olympic Steel has a beta of 1.77, suggesting that its stock price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate LIN or ZEUS?

Linde currently has a consensus target price of $520.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.54%. Olympic Steel has a consensus target price of $38.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.38%. Given Olympic Steel's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Olympic Steel is more favorable than Linde.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Linde	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Olympic Steel	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is LIN or ZEUS a better dividend stock?

Linde pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Olympic Steel pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Linde pays out 42.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Olympic Steel pays out 52.5% 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. Linde has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Olympic Steel has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Summary

Linde beats Olympic Steel on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.