Head-To-Head Review: L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) vs. Lindsay (NYSE:LNN)

L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR) and Lindsay (NYSE:LNN) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for L.B. Foster and Lindsay, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
L.B. Foster	0	2	2	0	2.50
Lindsay	1	2	0	0	1.67

L.B. Foster presently has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential downside of 15.83%. Lindsay has a consensus price target of $113.00, suggesting a potential downside of 8.58%. Given Lindsay’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lindsay is more favorable than L.B. Foster.

Profitability

This table compares L.B. Foster and Lindsay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
L.B. Foster	2.04%	7.61%	4.03%
Lindsay	8.79%	10.73%	6.63%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.6% of L.B. Foster shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.9% of Lindsay shares are held by institutional investors. 7.6% of L.B. Foster shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Lindsay shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares L.B. Foster and Lindsay”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
L.B. Foster	$558.35 million	0.72	$7.55 million	$1.05	36.21
Lindsay	$627.86 million	2.00	$74.05 million	$5.21	23.73

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

Risk and Volatility

L.B. Foster has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lindsay has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

L.B. Foster pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Lindsay pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. L.B. Foster pays out 15.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lindsay pays out 29.2% 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. Lindsay has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Lindsay is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Lindsay beats L.B. Foster on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About L.B. Foster

L.B. Foster Company provides engineered and manufactured products and services for the building and infrastructure projects in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Rail, Technologies, and Services; and Infrastructure Solutions. The Rail, Technologies, and Services segment offers new rail to passenger and short line freight railroads, industrial companies, and rail contractors, as well as used rails; rail accessories, such as rack spikes, bolts, angle bars, tie plates, and other products; insulated rail joints and related accessories; fixation fasteners, coverboards, and special accessories; and trackwork products. This segment also provides engineered concrete railroad ties, friction management products and application systems, railroad condition monitoring systems and equipment including wheel impact load detection systems, wayside data collection and management systems, and rockfall, flood, earthworks, and bridge strike monitoring; and aftermarket services. The Infrastructure Solutions segment manufactures precast concrete products for use as restrooms, concession stands, and protective storage buildings under the CXT brand for national, state, and municipal parks; and manufactures sounds walls, bridge beams, box culverts, septic tanks, and other custom pre-stressed and precast concrete products. This segment also provides steel bridge products; corrosion protection solutions; concrete-reinforced steel grid decking, open steel grid deck, aluminum bridge railing, and stay-in-place steel bridge forms; cuts, threads, and paints pipe; threading services for water well applications; protective pipeline coating services; and turnkey solutions for metering and injection systems for oil and gas markets. L.B. Foster Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

About Lindsay

Lindsay Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides water management and road infrastructure products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Irrigation and Infrastructure. The Irrigation segment manufactures and markets center pivot, lateral move irrigation systems, and irrigation controls under the Zimmatic brand; hose reel travelers under the Perrot brand; and chemical injection systems, variable rate irrigation systems, flow meters, weather stations, soil moisture sensors, and remote monitoring and control systems. It also offers repair and replacement parts for its irrigation systems and controls, and diameter steel tubing; global positioning system positioning and guidance, variable rate irrigation, wireless irrigation management, irrigation scheduling, and smartphone applications; and industrial Internet of Things technology solutions, data acquisition and management systems, and custom electronic equipment for applications under the Elecsys brand. The Infrastructure segment provides Road Zipper System comprised of T-shaped concrete and steel barriers, barrier transfer machine, and variable length barriers which are used for highway reconstruction, paving and resurfacing, road widening, median and shoulder construction, and repairs to tunnels and bridges. Additionally, it offers redirective and non-redirective crash cushions to enhance highway safety at locations such as toll booths, freeway off-ramps, medians and roadside barrier ends, bridge supports, utility poles, and other fixed roadway hazards; specialty barriers; preformed tape and road safety accessory products, as well as rail products, such as signals and lights, structures, foundations, junction boxes, and signs. Lindsay Corporation was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.