Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD – Get Free Report) and Construction Partners (NASDAQ:ROAD – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.
Profitability
This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Construction Partners’ 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% |
| Construction Partners | 4.10% | 16.06% | 4.59% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Construction Partners”s gross 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 |
| Construction Partners | $3.48 billion | 1.47 | $101.78 million | $2.55 | 35.22 |
Construction Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Construction Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
89.1% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8% of Construction Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.7% of Construction Partners shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and Construction Partners, 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 |
| Construction Partners | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2.62 |
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock currently has a consensus target price of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.00%. Construction Partners has a consensus target price of $132.67, indicating a potential upside of 47.74%. Given Construction Partners’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Construction Partners is more favorable than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock.
Risk and Volatility
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Construction Partners has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Construction Partners beats Great Lakes Dredge & Dock on 11 of the 15 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 Construction Partners
Construction Partners, Inc., a civil infrastructure company, constructs and maintains roadways in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The company provides various products and services to public and private infrastructure projects, such as highways, roads, bridges, airports, and commercial and residential developments. It also engages in manufacturing and distributing hot mix asphalt (HMA) for internal use and sales to third parties in connection with construction projects; and paving activities, including the construction of roadway base layers and application of asphalt pavement. In addition, the company is involved in site development, including the installation of utility and drainage systems; mining aggregates, such as sand, gravel, and construction stones that are used as raw materials in the production of HMA; and distributing liquid asphalt cement for internal use and sales to third parties in connection with HMA production. The company was formerly known as SunTx CPI Growth Company, Inc. and changed its name to Construction Partners, Inc. in September 2017. Construction Partners, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Dothan, Alabama.
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