Caesarstone (CSTE) and Its Competitors Financial Survey

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) is one of 38 public companies in the “BLDG&CONST – MISC” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Caesarstone to related companies based on the strength of its profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Caesarstone and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Caesarstone	-11.93%	-13.23%	-6.76%
Caesarstone Competitors	-11.01%	65.74%	4.94%

Risk and Volatility

Caesarstone has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Caesarstone’s peers have a beta of 0.99, meaning that their average share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

33.7% of Caesarstone shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.0% of shares of all “BLDG&CONST – MISC” companies are owned by institutional investors. 3.6% of shares of all “BLDG&CONST – MISC” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Caesarstone and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Caesarstone	0	0	1	0	3.00
Caesarstone Competitors	242	1410	2267	108	2.56

Caesarstone presently has a consensus price target of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 183.02%. As a group, “BLDG&CONST – MISC” companies have a potential upside of 11.56%. Given Caesarstone’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Caesarstone is more favorable than its peers.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Caesarstone and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Caesarstone	$424.49 million	-$42.83 million	-1.56
Caesarstone Competitors	$6.92 billion	$580.08 million	23.37

Caesarstone’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Caesarstone. Caesarstone is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Caesarstone pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.0%. Caesarstone pays out -14.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “BLDG&CONST – MISC” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.0% and pay out 21.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Caesarstone is clearly a better dividend stock than its peers, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Caesarstone peers beat Caesarstone on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

About Caesarstone

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company’s engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors. Its products are also used in other applications, such as vanity tops, wall panels, back splashes, floor tiles, stairs, furniture, and other interior and exterior surfaces that are used in various residential and non-residential applications. The company also offers porcelain products under the Lioli brand for countertops, flooring, and cladding applications; sells natural stone, sinks, and various ancillary fabrication tools and materials; and resells natural stones, as well as various ancillaries, and fabrication and installation accessories, as well as provides fabrication and installation services. It sells its products directly to wholesalers, resellers, and fabricators; and through direct sales force and indirect network of independent distributors. The company was formerly known as Caesarstone Sdot Yam Ltd. and changed its name to Caesarstone Ltd. in June 2016. Caesarstone Ltd. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Menashe, Israel.