Hillenbrand (HI) Competitors

Hillenbrand (NYSE:HI) and Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Is HI or LECO more profitable?

Lincoln Electric has a net margin of 12.27% compared to Hillenbrand's net margin of -0.63%. Lincoln Electric's return on equity of 39.79% beat Hillenbrand's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hillenbrand	-0.63%	13.53%	3.82%
Lincoln Electric	12.27%	39.79%	14.74%

Do analysts recommend HI or LECO?

Hillenbrand presently has a consensus price target of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.39%. Lincoln Electric has a consensus price target of $231.40, indicating a potential downside of 5.76%. Given Hillenbrand's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Hillenbrand is more favorable than Lincoln Electric.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hillenbrand	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Lincoln Electric	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Is HI or LECO a better dividend stock?

Hillenbrand pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Lincoln Electric pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Hillenbrand pays out -360.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lincoln Electric pays out 33.7% 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. Hillenbrand has increased its dividend for 18 consecutive years and Lincoln Electric has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Hillenbrand is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, HI or LECO?

Lincoln Electric has higher revenue and earnings than Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lincoln Electric, 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
Hillenbrand	$3.18B	0.57	-$211M	-$0.25	-103.73
Lincoln Electric	$4.01B	3.38	$466.11M	$8.90	27.59

Does the media refer more to HI or LECO?

In the previous week, Lincoln Electric had 7 more articles in the media than Hillenbrand. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Lincoln Electric and 9 mentions for Hillenbrand. Lincoln Electric's average media sentiment score of 1.54 beat Hillenbrand's score of 1.44 indicating that Lincoln Electric is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hillenbrand	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Lincoln Electric	14 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of HI or LECO?

89.1% of Hillenbrand shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.6% of Lincoln Electric shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Hillenbrand shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Lincoln Electric shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, HI or LECO?

Hillenbrand has a beta of 1.46, indicating that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lincoln Electric has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lincoln Electric beats Hillenbrand on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.