Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) and Albany International (NYSE:AIN) are both industrial products companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.
Volatility and Risk
Stanley Black & Decker has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Albany International has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its stock price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
85.4% of Stanley Black & Decker shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.3% of Albany International shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Stanley Black & Decker shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of Albany International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Stanley Black & Decker and Albany International's revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Stanley Black & Decker | $14.44 billion | 1.95 | $955.80 million | $8.40 | 20.81 |
| Albany International | $1.05 billion | 2.42 | $132.40 million | $4.11 | 19.23 |
Stanley Black & Decker has higher revenue and earnings than Albany International. Albany International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stanley Black & Decker, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Stanley Black & Decker and Albany International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Stanley Black & Decker | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2.62 |
| Albany International | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.40 |
Stanley Black & Decker currently has a consensus target price of $184.6154, indicating a potential upside of 5.59%. Albany International has a consensus target price of $71.20, indicating a potential downside of 9.93%. Given Stanley Black & Decker's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Stanley Black & Decker is more favorable than Albany International.
Profitability
This table compares Stanley Black & Decker and Albany International's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Stanley Black & Decker | 6.98% | 15.05% | 5.46% |
| Albany International | 10.76% | 17.39% | 8.32% |
Dividends
Stanley Black & Decker pays an annual dividend of $2.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Albany International pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Stanley Black & Decker pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Albany International pays out 19.5% 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. Stanley Black & Decker has raised its dividend for 54 consecutive years and Albany International has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Stanley Black & Decker is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Summary
Stanley Black & Decker beats Albany International on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
