AZZ (AZZ) Competitors

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) and Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and media sentiment.

Do analysts prefer AZZ or FELE?

AZZ presently has a consensus target price of $108.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.47%. Franklin Electric has a consensus target price of $107.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.87%. Given Franklin Electric's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Franklin Electric is more favorable than AZZ.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AZZ	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88
Franklin Electric	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the media refer more to AZZ or FELE?

In the previous week, Franklin Electric had 24 more articles in the media than AZZ. MarketBeat recorded 32 mentions for Franklin Electric and 8 mentions for AZZ. AZZ's average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat Franklin Electric's score of 0.53 indicating that AZZ is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AZZ	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Franklin Electric	4 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	14 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AZZ or FELE a better dividend stock?

AZZ pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Franklin Electric pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. AZZ pays out 9.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Franklin Electric pays out 27.7% 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. Franklin Electric has increased its dividend for 33 consecutive years. Franklin Electric is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of AZZ or FELE?

90.9% of AZZ shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.0% of Franklin Electric shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of AZZ shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Franklin Electric shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, AZZ or FELE?

Franklin Electric has higher revenue and earnings than AZZ. AZZ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Franklin Electric, 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
AZZ	$1.58B	2.02	$128.83M	$8.63	12.33
Franklin Electric	$2.02B	2.10	$180.31M	$3.82	24.38

Which has more volatility & risk, AZZ or FELE?

AZZ has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Franklin Electric has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is AZZ or FELE more profitable?

AZZ has a net margin of 16.40% compared to Franklin Electric's net margin of 8.71%. AZZ's return on equity of 15.54% beat Franklin Electric's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AZZ	16.40%	15.54%	7.51%
Franklin Electric	8.71%	14.05%	9.47%

Summary

AZZ and Franklin Electric tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.