Mueller Industries (MLI) Competitors

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) and Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment and valuation.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of FELE or MLI?

80.0% of Franklin Electric shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.5% of Mueller Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Franklin Electric shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Mueller Industries shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility and risk, FELE or MLI?

Franklin Electric has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mueller Industries has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer FELE or MLI?

In the previous week, Mueller Industries had 9 more articles in the media than Franklin Electric. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Mueller Industries and 5 mentions for Franklin Electric. Franklin Electric's average media sentiment score of 1.72 beat Mueller Industries' score of 1.54 indicating that Franklin Electric is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Franklin Electric	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Mueller Industries	12 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is FELE or MLI a better dividend stock?

Franklin Electric pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mueller Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Franklin Electric pays out 27.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mueller Industries pays out 15.9% 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. Franklin Electric has raised its dividend for 33 consecutive years and Mueller Industries has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Franklin Electric is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better valuation & earnings, FELE or MLI?

Mueller Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Franklin Electric. Mueller Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Franklin 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
Franklin Electric	$2.02B	2.12	$180.31M	$3.87	24.89
Mueller Industries	$3.77B	2.80	$604.88M	$6.30	15.13

Is FELE or MLI more profitable?

Mueller Industries has a net margin of 17.48% compared to Franklin Electric's net margin of 8.71%. Mueller Industries' return on equity of 24.47% beat Franklin Electric's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Franklin Electric	8.71%	14.05%	9.47%
Mueller Industries	17.48%	24.47%	20.63%

Do analysts prefer FELE or MLI?

Franklin Electric presently has a consensus price target of $107.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.09%. Mueller Industries has a consensus price target of $105.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.18%. Given Franklin Electric's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Franklin Electric is more favorable than Mueller Industries.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Franklin Electric	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Mueller Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Mueller Industries beats Franklin Electric on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.