Carpenter Technology (CRS) Competitors

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

Is FSTR or CRS more profitable?

Carpenter Technology has a net margin of 13.07% compared to L.B. Foster's net margin of 7.19%. Carpenter Technology's return on equity of 21.50% beat L.B. Foster's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
L.B. Foster	7.19%	3.64%	1.88%
Carpenter Technology	13.07%	21.50%	11.28%

Does the media refer more to FSTR or CRS?

In the previous week, Carpenter Technology had 8 more articles in the media than L.B. Foster. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Carpenter Technology and 4 mentions for L.B. Foster. L.B. Foster's average media sentiment score of 1.41 beat Carpenter Technology's score of 1.09 indicating that L.B. Foster is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
L.B. Foster	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Carpenter Technology	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, FSTR or CRS?

L.B. Foster has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carpenter Technology has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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

80.6% of L.B. Foster shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.0% of Carpenter Technology shares are held by institutional investors. 4.7% of L.B. Foster shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Carpenter Technology shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, FSTR or CRS?

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
L.B. Foster	$530.77M	0.54	$42.95M	$3.32	8.07
Carpenter Technology	$2.88B	4.31	$376M	$7.42	33.56

Do analysts recommend FSTR or CRS?

L.B. Foster presently has a consensus target price of $25.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.68%. Carpenter Technology has a consensus target price of $278.33, suggesting a potential upside of 11.78%. Given Carpenter Technology's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Carpenter Technology is more favorable than L.B. Foster.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
L.B. Foster	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Carpenter Technology	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.71

Summary

Carpenter Technology beats L.B. Foster on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.