Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) & Belden (NYSE:BDC) Head to Head Analysis

Belden (NYSE:BDC) and Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.8% of Belden shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Belden shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Atkore shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Belden pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Atkore pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Belden pays out 3.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Atkore pays out 25.4% 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. Atkore has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Atkore is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

Belden has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atkore has a beta of 2.06, indicating that its share price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Belden and Atkore”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Belden	$2.46 billion	1.84	$198.43 million	$5.18	22.12
Atkore	$3.20 billion	0.74	$472.87 million	$5.20	13.47

Atkore has higher revenue and earnings than Belden. Atkore is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Belden, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Belden and Atkore’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Belden	8.35%	22.28%	8.23%
Atkore	6.48%	20.81%	10.61%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Belden and Atkore, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Belden	0	0	5	0	3.00
Atkore	0	4	3	0	2.43

Belden presently has a consensus price target of $128.20, suggesting a potential upside of 11.88%. Atkore has a consensus price target of $79.57, suggesting a potential upside of 13.58%. Given Atkore’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Atkore is more favorable than Belden.

Summary

Atkore beats Belden on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Belden

Belden Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of signal transmission solutions for mission critical applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates in two segments, Enterprise Solutions and Industrial Automation Solutions. The Enterprise Solutions segment offers copper cable and connectivity solutions, fiber cable and connectivity solutions, interconnect panels, racks and enclosures, and signal extension and matrix switching systems for use in applications, such as local area networks, data centers, access control, 5G, fiber to the home, and building automation. It also provides power, cooling, and airflow management products for mission-critical data center operations; and end-to-end fiber and copper network systems. This segment serves commercial real estate, education, financial, stadiums and venues, military installations, and broadband and wireless service providers, as well as data centers, governments, healthcare, and hospitality sectors. The Industrial Automation Solutions segment offers network infrastructure and digitization solutions; secure networks for the digitization and automation of industries and infrastructure; and products and solutions covering various aspects of data handling, including acquisition, transmission, orchestration, and management for applications in discrete automation, process automation, energy, and mass transit. It sells its products to distributors, end-users, installers, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company was formerly known as Belden CDT Inc. and changed its name to Belden Inc. in May 2007. Belden Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.

About Atkore

Atkore Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of electrical, mechanical, safety, and infrastructure products and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers conduits, cables, and installation accessories. It also designs and manufactures protection and reliability solutions for critical infrastructure, such as metal framing, mechanical pipe, perimeter security, and cable management. The company offers its products under the Allied Tube & Conduit, AFC Cable Systems, Kaf-Tech, Heritage Plastics, Unistrut, Power-Strut, Cope, US Tray, FRE Composites, United Poly Systems, Calbond, and Calpipe. It serves various end markets, including new construction; maintenance, repair, and remodel; infrastructure; diversified industrials; alternative power generation; healthcare; data centers; and governments through electrical, industrial, and mechanical contractors, as well as original equipment manufacturers. The company was formerly known as Atkore International Group Inc. and changed its name to Atkore Inc. in February 2021. Atkore Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Harvey, Illinois.