Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) versus Williams Industries (OTCMKTS:WMSI) Financial Review

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) and Williams Industries (OTCMKTS:WMSI) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.1% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 47.4% of Williams Industries shares are owned 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Williams Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	0	0	1	0	3.00
Williams Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock currently has a consensus target price of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 23.24%. Given Great Lakes Dredge & Dock’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is more favorable than Williams Industries.

Profitability

This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Williams Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	8.63%	15.72%	5.85%
Williams Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Williams Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	$762.69 million	1.01	$57.26 million	$1.02	11.14
Williams Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has higher revenue and earnings than Williams Industries.

Summary

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock beats Williams Industries on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. engages in the provision of dredging services. Its projects include channel and port maintenance, channel deepening and port expansion, coastal protection and restoration, as well as land reclamation. The company was founded by William A. Lydon and Frederick C. Drews in 1890 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

About Williams Industries

Williams Industries, Incorporated manufactures and sells welded steel plate girders, rolled steel beams, stay-in-place bridge decking, and light structural and other metal products in the United States. The company also offers steel, precast concrete and miscellaneous metals erection and installation services, as well as rigging and specialized hauling services. It also rents cranes. The company provides its services and products for industrial, governmental, commercial, and institutional construction markets. Williams Industries, Incorporated was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Manassas, Virginia.