Brookfield Business (NYSE:BBUC) and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) Financial Survey

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) and Brookfield Business (NYSE:BBUC) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brookfield Business has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.1% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.0% of Brookfield Business shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are held by 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	8.27%	16.46%	6.48%
Brookfield Business	1.13%	2.05%	0.40%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Brookfield Business”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	$888.28 million	1.28	$73.47 million	$1.07	15.89
Brookfield Business	$27.46 billion	0.19	-$26.00 million	($0.39)	-65.67

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Brookfield Business. Brookfield Business is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Brookfield Business pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock pays out 7.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brookfield Business pays out -64.1% 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. Brookfield Business is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Brookfield Business, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	1	4	1	0	2.00
Brookfield Business	1	2	3	0	2.33

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock currently has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. Brookfield Business has a consensus target price of $39.20, suggesting a potential upside of 53.07%. Given Brookfield Business’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Brookfield Business is more favorable than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock.

Summary

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock beats Brookfield Business on 10 of the 16 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 Brookfield Business

Brookfield Business Corporation focuses on healthcare, construction, and wastewater services in the United States, Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Brazil. It operates through three segments: Business Services, Infrastructure Services, and Industrials. The company operates 42 hospitals; offers construction services for office, residential, hospitality and leisure, social infrastructure, retail, and mixed-use properties; and provides nuclear technology services, such as fuel, maintenance services, engineering solutions, instrumentation and control systems, and manufactured components for nuclear power plants. It also engages in the collection, treatment, and distribution of water and wastewater to the residential and governmental customers. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is headquartered in New York, New York.