Crane NXT (CXT) Competitors

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) and James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) are both construction materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Do analysts prefer CXT or JHX?

Crane NXT presently has a consensus target price of $73.75, suggesting a potential upside of 30.51%. James Hardie Industries has a consensus target price of $39.12, suggesting a potential upside of 35.96%. Given James Hardie Industries' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe James Hardie Industries is more favorable than Crane NXT.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crane NXT	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
James Hardie Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media refer more to CXT or JHX?

In the previous week, James Hardie Industries had 13 more articles in the media than Crane NXT. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for James Hardie Industries and 4 mentions for Crane NXT. Crane NXT's average media sentiment score of 1.13 beat James Hardie Industries' score of 0.36 indicating that Crane NXT is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Crane NXT	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
James Hardie Industries	2 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in CXT or JHX?

77.5% of Crane NXT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.0% of James Hardie Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Crane NXT shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better earnings & valuation, CXT or JHX?

James Hardie Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Crane NXT. Crane NXT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than James Hardie 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
Crane NXT	$1.49B	2.18	$184.10M	$2.91	19.42
James Hardie Industries	$3.88B	3.19	$424M	$0.98	29.36

Is CXT or JHX a better dividend stock?

Crane NXT pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. James Hardie Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Crane NXT pays out 23.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. James Hardie Industries pays out 21.4% 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. Crane NXT has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Crane NXT is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, CXT or JHX?

Crane NXT has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, James Hardie Industries has a beta of 1.75, indicating that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is CXT or JHX more profitable?

Crane NXT has a net margin of 11.17% compared to James Hardie Industries' net margin of 10.94%. James Hardie Industries' return on equity of 31.52% beat Crane NXT's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crane NXT	11.17%	21.58%	9.50%
James Hardie Industries	10.94%	31.52%	12.86%

Summary

James Hardie Industries beats Crane NXT on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.