Apogee Enterprises (NASDAQ:APOG) and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) Financial Comparison

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) and Apogee Enterprises (NASDAQ:APOG) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apogee Enterprises has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Apogee Enterprises”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	$1.70 billion	4.66	$198.00 million	$1.62	29.41
Apogee Enterprises	$1.40 billion	0.53	$54.13 million	$3.19	11.17

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has higher revenue and earnings than Apogee Enterprises. Apogee Enterprises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Apogee Enterprises, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	0	3	5	1	2.78
Apogee Enterprises	0	2	2	0	2.50

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor currently has a consensus target price of $57.44, indicating a potential upside of 20.55%. Apogee Enterprises has a consensus target price of $70.50, indicating a potential upside of 97.92%. Given Apogee Enterprises’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Apogee Enterprises is more favorable than Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor.

Profitability

This table compares Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Apogee Enterprises’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	15.45%	18.01%	10.74%
Apogee Enterprises	4.88%	14.72%	6.67%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

83.3% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.1% of Apogee Enterprises shares are held by institutional investors. 2.4% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Apogee Enterprises shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Apogee Enterprises pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor pays out 27.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Apogee Enterprises pays out 33.9% 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. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Apogee Enterprises has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Apogee Enterprises is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor beats Apogee Enterprises on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names. The company also provides flow systems products comprising point drains, hydrants, fixture carrier systems, chemical drainage systems; and interceptors and separators, acid neutralization systems, and remote monitoring systems under the Zurn and Green Turtle brands. In addition, it develops, manufactures, and markets remote tank monitoring devices, alarms, software, and services. Further, the company offers sensor-operated flush valves under the AquaSense, Aquaflush, and AquaVantage brands; heavy-duty commercial faucets under the AquaSpec brand; water conserving fixtures under the EcoVantage and Zurn One brands; stainless steel products under the Just Manufacturing brand name, which include stainless steel sinks and plumbing fixtures, and various types of sinks, as well as drinking water dispensing and filtration products under the Elkay and Halsey Taylor brands. It distributes to institutional, commercial, waterworks, and residential end markets through independent sales representatives, plumbing wholesalers, and industry-specific distributors in the waterworks, foodservice, industrial, janitorial, sanitation, and sitework industries. The company was formerly known as Zurn Water Solutions Corporation and changed its name to Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation in July 2022. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Apogee Enterprises

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. provides architectural products and services for enclosing buildings, and glass and acrylic products used for preservation, protection, and enhanced viewing in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. The company operates in four segments: Architectural Framing Systems, Architectural Glass, Architectural Services, and Large-Scale Optical (LSO). The Architectural Framing Systems segment designs, engineers, fabricates, finishes, and installs custom glass and aluminum window, curtainwall, storefront, and entrance systems for the exterior of buildings primarily in the non-residential construction sectors. The Architectural Glass segment provides a range of high-performance glass products for use in windows, curtainwall, storefront, and entrance systems. The Architectural Services segment integrates technical services, project management, and field installation services to design, engineer, fabricate, and install building glass and curtainwall systems. The LSO segment manufactures high-performance glazing products for the custom framing, fine art, and engineered optics markets. The company’s products and services are primarily used in commercial buildings, such as office buildings, hotels, and retail centers; institutional buildings comprising education facilities, health care facilities, and government buildings; transportation facilities, such as airports and transit terminals, as well as multi-family residential buildings. It markets its architectural products and services through direct sales force, independent sales representatives, distributors, and glazing subcontractors and general contractors; and value-added glass and acrylics through retail chains, as well as independent distributors to museums, galleries, and other customers. The company was incorporated in 1949 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.