Carpenter Technology (CRS) Competitors

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) and L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and risk.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, CRS or FSTR?

Carpenter Technology has higher revenue and earnings than L.B. Foster. L.B. Foster is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carpenter Technology, 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
Carpenter Technology	$2.76B	4.98	$186.50M	$7.06	39.09
L.B. Foster	$530.77M	0.47	$42.95M	$3.31	7.21

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of CRS or FSTR?

92.0% of Carpenter Technology shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.6% of L.B. Foster shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Carpenter Technology shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of L.B. Foster shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to CRS or FSTR?

In the previous week, Carpenter Technology had 7 more articles in the media than L.B. Foster. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Carpenter Technology and 1 mentions for L.B. Foster. Carpenter Technology's average media sentiment score of 1.57 beat L.B. Foster's score of 0.87 indicating that Carpenter Technology is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Carpenter Technology	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
L.B. Foster	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, CRS or FSTR?

Carpenter Technology has a beta of 1.39, suggesting that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, L.B. Foster has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is CRS or FSTR more profitable?

Carpenter Technology has a net margin of 12.26% compared to L.B. Foster's net margin of 7.22%. Carpenter Technology's return on equity of 21.16% beat L.B. Foster's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carpenter Technology	12.26%	21.16%	10.85%
L.B. Foster	7.22%	3.76%	1.89%

Do analysts prefer CRS or FSTR?

Carpenter Technology currently has a consensus target price of $278.33, indicating a potential upside of 0.86%. L.B. Foster has a consensus target price of $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 4.73%. Given L.B. Foster's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe L.B. Foster is more favorable than Carpenter Technology.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carpenter Technology	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
L.B. Foster	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Carpenter Technology beats L.B. Foster on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.