Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) Competitors

Louisiana-Pacific (NYSE:LPX) and Potlatch (NASDAQ:PCH) are both mid-cap construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation and dividends.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, LPX or PCH?

Louisiana-Pacific has higher revenue and earnings than Potlatch. Louisiana-Pacific is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Potlatch, 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
Louisiana-Pacific	$2.94B	2.13	$420M	$4.24	21.25
Potlatch	$1.06B	3.05	$21.88M	$0.53	79.03

Do analysts rate LPX or PCH?

Louisiana-Pacific currently has a consensus target price of $110.57, indicating a potential upside of 22.73%. Potlatch has a consensus target price of $49.83, indicating a potential upside of 18.98%. Given Louisiana-Pacific's higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Louisiana-Pacific is more favorable than Potlatch.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Louisiana-Pacific	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.38
Potlatch	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 LPX or PCH?

In the previous week, Louisiana-Pacific and Louisiana-Pacific both had 3 articles in the media. Potlatch's average media sentiment score of 0.99 beat Louisiana-Pacific's score of 0.80 indicating that Potlatch is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Louisiana-Pacific	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Potlatch	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is LPX or PCH more profitable?

Louisiana-Pacific has a net margin of 10.34% compared to Potlatch's net margin of 3.94%. Louisiana-Pacific's return on equity of 18.67% beat Potlatch's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Louisiana-Pacific	10.34%	18.67%	12.19%
Potlatch	3.94%	2.10%	1.29%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in LPX or PCH?

94.7% of Louisiana-Pacific shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of Potlatch shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Louisiana-Pacific shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Potlatch shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is LPX or PCH a better dividend stock?

Louisiana-Pacific pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Potlatch pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Louisiana-Pacific pays out 26.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Potlatch pays out 339.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Louisiana-Pacific has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years.

Which has more volatility & risk, LPX or PCH?

Louisiana-Pacific has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Potlatch has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Louisiana-Pacific beats Potlatch on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.