Carlisle Companies (CSL) Competitors

Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI) and Carlisle Companies (NYSE:CSL) are related companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, media sentiment, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Which has more risk & volatility, AWI or CSL?

Armstrong World Industries has a beta of 1.45, indicating that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carlisle Companies has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Is AWI or CSL a better dividend stock?

Armstrong World Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Carlisle Companies pays an annual dividend of $4.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Armstrong World Industries pays out 18.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Carlisle Companies pays out 24.6% 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. Armstrong World Industries has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Carlisle Companies has increased its dividend for 48 consecutive years. Carlisle Companies is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is AWI or CSL more profitable?

Armstrong World Industries has a net margin of 18.95% compared to Carlisle Companies' net margin of 16.12%. Armstrong World Industries' return on equity of 39.80% beat Carlisle Companies' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Armstrong World Industries	18.95%	39.80%	16.79%
Carlisle Companies	16.12%	38.16%	15.60%

Does the media favor AWI or CSL?

In the previous week, Carlisle Companies had 3 more articles in the media than Armstrong World Industries. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Carlisle Companies and 12 mentions for Armstrong World Industries. Carlisle Companies' average media sentiment score of 1.11 beat Armstrong World Industries' score of 0.76 indicating that Carlisle Companies is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Armstrong World Industries	4 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Carlisle Companies	11 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, AWI or CSL?

Carlisle Companies has higher revenue and earnings than Armstrong World Industries. Carlisle Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Armstrong World Industries, 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
Armstrong World Industries	$1.56B	5.44	$264.90M	$6.76	29.06
Carlisle Companies	$5.00B	2.79	$1.31B	$17.90	18.20

Do insiders and institutionals believe in AWI or CSL?

98.9% of Armstrong World Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.5% of Carlisle Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Armstrong World Industries shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Carlisle Companies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts prefer AWI or CSL?

Armstrong World Industries presently has a consensus price target of $197.14, indicating a potential upside of 0.35%. Carlisle Companies has a consensus price target of $429.17, indicating a potential upside of 31.70%. Given Carlisle Companies' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Carlisle Companies is more favorable than Armstrong World Industries.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Armstrong World Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Carlisle Companies	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Summary

Armstrong World Industries beats Carlisle Companies on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.