Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) and Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) Head to Head Analysis

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) and Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Flowserve and Columbus McKinnon’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flowserve	5.42%	22.14%	8.49%
Columbus McKinnon	-21.25%	10.02%	2.36%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Flowserve and Columbus McKinnon, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flowserve	0	4	7	0	2.64
Columbus McKinnon	1	2	1	1	2.40

Flowserve currently has a consensus target price of $86.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.07%. Columbus McKinnon has a consensus target price of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 45.94%. Given Columbus McKinnon’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Columbus McKinnon is more favorable than Flowserve.

Dividends

Flowserve pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Columbus McKinnon pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Flowserve pays out 44.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Columbus McKinnon pays out -3.8% 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. Flowserve has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Columbus McKinnon is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk & Volatility

Flowserve has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbus McKinnon has a beta of 1.49, suggesting that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.9% of Flowserve shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of Columbus McKinnon shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Flowserve shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Columbus McKinnon shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Flowserve and Columbus McKinnon”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flowserve	$4.70 billion	2.17	$346.25 million	$1.99	40.36
Columbus McKinnon	$1.19 billion	0.38	-$229.54 million	($7.46)	-2.11

Flowserve has higher revenue and earnings than Columbus McKinnon. Columbus McKinnon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Flowserve, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Flowserve beats Columbus McKinnon on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Flowserve

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets. The FCD segment provides engineered and industrial valve and automation systems, including isolation and control valves, actuation, controls, and related equipment; and equipment maintenance services for flow control systems, including advanced diagnostics, repair, installation, commissioning, retrofit programs, and field machining capabilities. This segment's products are used to control, direct, and manage the flow of liquids, gases, and multi-phase fluids. It primarily serves oil and gas, chemical and pharmaceuticals, power generation, and water management markets, as well as general industries, including mining and ore processing, pulp and paper, food and beverage, and other smaller applications. The company distributes its products through direct sales, distributors, and sales representatives. Flowserve Corporation was founded in 1790 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

About Columbus McKinnon

Columbus McKinnon Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets motion solutions for moving, lifting, positioning, and securing materials worldwide. It offers manual, battery, electric, and air hoists; steel, rack, and pinion jacks; winches, hydraulic jacks and tools, trolleys and its clamps, and lifting tables; skates and heavy load moving systems; material handling equipment; mobile, workplace, and jib cranes; crane components and kits; and below-the-hook lifting devices, lifting slings, and lashing systems. The company also provides linear motion products, elevator and mining drives, brakes, radio controls, collision avoidance systems, regenerative drives, AC and DC drive and motor control systems, DC motor and magnet control systems, and conductor bar systems; and underfloor lifting systems, lifting jacks, roof working platforms, hybrid lifting systems, turntables, bogie axle exchange and lifting systems, bogie lift and turn devices, and workshop equipment. In addition, it offers fabric and modular belt, and sanitary, stainless steel conveyors; pallet systems; parts and belts; rotary unions and swivel joints; check valves; accumulation and transfer tables, motion control systems, and steel and flexible chains; hooks, shackles, textile slings, clamps, and load binders; actuators and rotary unions; and push button pendant stations, collision avoidance, and power delivery subsystems. It serves EV production and aerospace, energy and utilities, process industries, industrial automation, construction and infrastructure, food and beverage, entertainment, life sciences, consumer packaged goods, and e-commerce/supply chain/warehousing markets. It offers its products to end users directly, and through distributors, independent crane builders, material handling specialists and integrators, original equipment manufacturers, government agencies, and engineering procurement and construction firms. The company was founded in 1875 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.