Head-To-Head Comparison: Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) versus Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI)

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) and Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Valmont Industries and Greenbrier Companies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Valmont Industries	0	2	4	0	2.67
Greenbrier Companies	1	3	0	0	1.75

Valmont Industries presently has a consensus price target of $587.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.23%. Greenbrier Companies has a consensus price target of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.62%. Given Valmont Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Valmont Industries is more favorable than Greenbrier Companies.

Risk and Volatility

Valmont Industries has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Greenbrier Companies has a beta of 1.42, suggesting that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.8% of Valmont Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.6% of Greenbrier Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Valmont Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Greenbrier Companies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Valmont Industries pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Greenbrier Companies pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Valmont Industries pays out 12.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Greenbrier Companies pays out 40.4% 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. Valmont Industries has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Greenbrier Companies has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Greenbrier Companies is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Valmont Industries and Greenbrier Companies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Valmont Industries	11.70%	25.57%	12.44%
Greenbrier Companies	4.07%	6.49%	2.55%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Valmont Industries and Greenbrier Companies”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Valmont Industries	$4.10 billion	2.22	$334.78 million	$25.68	18.40
Greenbrier Companies	$3.24 billion	0.41	$204.10 million	$3.37	12.64

Valmont Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Greenbrier Companies. Greenbrier Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Valmont Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Valmont Industries beats Greenbrier Companies on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc. operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications. It also offers galvanizing, anodizing, painting, and powder coating services for paint products; towers, small cell structures, camouflage concealment solutions, passive intermodulation mitigation equipment, and components for wireless communication markets; and solar single-axis tracker product, an integrated system of steel structures, electric motors, and electronic controllers, as well as provides coatings services to preserve metal products. In addition, the company manufactures center pivot components and linear irrigation equipment for the agricultural markets, such as parts and tubular products for industrial customers; advanced technology solutions for agricultural sector; mechanical irrigation equipment and service parts under the Valley brand name. It serves municipalities and government entities, commercial lighting fixtures manufacturing companies, contractors, telecommunications and utility companies, and farmers, as well as the general manufacturing sector. Valmont Industries, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

About Greenbrier Companies

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets railroad freight car equipment in North America, Europe, and South America. It operates through three segments: Manufacturing; Maintenance Services; and Leasing & Management Services. The Manufacturing segment offers covered hopper cars, gondolas, open top hoppers, boxcars, center partition cars, tank cars, sustainable conversions, double-stack railcars, auto-max ii, multi-max, and multi-max plus products, intermodal cars, automobile transport, coil steel and metals, flat cars, sliding wall cars, pressurized tank cars, and non-pressurized tank cars. The Maintenance Services segment provides wheel services, including reconditioning of wheels and axles, new axle machining and finishing, and downsizing; operates a railcar repair, refurbishment, and maintenance network; and reconditions and manufactures railcar cushioning units, couplers, yokes, side frames, bolsters, and various other parts. The Leasing & Management Services segment offers operating leases and per diem leases for a fleet of approximately 13,400 railcars; and management services comprising railcar maintenance management, railcar accounting services, fleet management and logistics, administration, and railcar re-marketing. This segment provides management services for railroads, shippers, carriers, institutional investors, and other leasing and transportation companies. It serves railroads, leasing companies, financial institutions, shippers, carriers, and transportation companies. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon.