AZZ (AZZ) Competitors

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

Is AZZ or AOS a better dividend stock?

AZZ pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. A. O. Smith pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. AZZ pays out 42.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. A. O. Smith pays out 38.0% 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. A. O. Smith has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years. A. O. Smith is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is AZZ or AOS more profitable?

A. O. Smith has a net margin of 13.74% compared to AZZ's net margin of 8.17%. A. O. Smith's return on equity of 28.39% beat AZZ's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AZZ	8.17%	15.30%	7.01%
A. O. Smith	13.74%	28.39%	16.70%

Do analysts rate AZZ or AOS?

AZZ currently has a consensus price target of $104.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.16%. A. O. Smith has a consensus price target of $75.29, suggesting a potential upside of 14.76%. Given A. O. Smith's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe A. O. Smith is more favorable than AZZ.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AZZ	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
A. O. Smith	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29

Do insiders & institutionals believe in AZZ or AOS?

90.9% of AZZ shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of A. O. Smith shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of AZZ shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of A. O. Smith shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer AZZ or AOS?

In the previous week, A. O. Smith had 13 more articles in the media than AZZ. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for A. O. Smith and 13 mentions for AZZ. AZZ's average media sentiment score of 0.70 beat A. O. Smith's score of 0.65 indicating that AZZ is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AZZ	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
A. O. Smith	11 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better valuation & earnings, AZZ or AOS?

A. O. Smith has higher revenue and earnings than AZZ. A. O. Smith is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AZZ, 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	1.79	$128.83M	$1.59	59.38
A. O. Smith	$3.82B	2.44	$533.60M	$3.58	18.32

Which has more volatility and risk, AZZ or AOS?

AZZ has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, A. O. Smith has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

A. O. Smith beats AZZ on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.