Analyzing NSK (OTCMKTS:NPSKY) and NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX)

NSK (OTCMKTS:NPSKY) and NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for NSK and NWPX Infrastructure, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NSK	0	0	0	0	0.00
NWPX Infrastructure	0	3	0	0	2.00

NWPX Infrastructure has a consensus target price of $57.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.13%. Given NWPX Infrastructure’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe NWPX Infrastructure is more favorable than NSK.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.6% of NWPX Infrastructure shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of NWPX Infrastructure shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares NSK and NWPX Infrastructure’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NSK	N/A	N/A	N/A
NWPX Infrastructure	6.69%	8.93%	5.61%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NSK and NWPX Infrastructure”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NSK	$5.23 billion	0.47	$70.27 million	N/A	N/A
NWPX Infrastructure	$492.55 million	1.03	$34.21 million	$3.32	15.87

NSK has higher revenue and earnings than NWPX Infrastructure.

Risk and Volatility

NSK has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NWPX Infrastructure has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

NWPX Infrastructure beats NSK on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NSK

NSK Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells industrial machinery bearings, automotive products, and precision machinery and parts worldwide. Its products include ball bearings; roller bearings; bearing units; super precision bearings; bearings for steel industry, mining and construction, papermaking machines, and pumps and compressors; and bearings for special environments, including sanitary, corrosive, vacuum, cleanroom, high-temperature, non-magnetic requirement, and dust-contaminated environments. The company also provides automotive products, which comprise chassis products, such as electric power steerings, steering column and intermediate shafts, brake systems, and hub unit bearings; power train products comprising engine parts and electrical accessories, automatic and manual transmission, products for motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, half toroidal CVT POWERTOROS units, and differential gear and propeller shafts. In addition, it offers precision machine components, including ball screws, linear guides, monocarriers, XY tables, and spindles; and accessories, including ball screw support bearings, air bearings, and clean grease, as well as support units for heavy and light loads, machine tools, and small equipment. Further, the company provides megatorque motors and maintenance services. It serves agriculture, automotive, cement, food processing machinery, industrial motor, gearbox, injection molding machine, machine tool, medical device, mining and construction, motorcycle, office equipment, palm oil, papermaking machinery, pump and compressor, railway, semiconductor, steel, sugar, and wind turbine industries. NSK Ltd. was incorporated in 1916 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About NWPX Infrastructure

Northwest Pipe Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and supply of water-related infrastructure products in North America. It operates in two segments, Engineered Steel Pressure Pipe (SPP) and Precast Infrastructure and Engineered Systems (Precast). The SPP segment offers large-diameter and high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, which are primarily related to drinking water systems. Its products are also used for hydroelectric power systems, wastewater systems, seismic resiliency, and other applications. In addition, this segment makes products for industrial plant piping systems and certain structural applications. The Precast segment provides stormwater and wastewater technology products, precast, and reinforced concrete products, including reinforced concrete pipe, manholes, box culverts, vaults and catch basins, pump lift stations, oil water separators, biofiltration units, steel casing pipes, and bar-wrapped concrete cylinder pipes, as well as pipeline system joints, fittings, specialized components, and other environmental and engineered solutions. The company sells its water infrastructure products under ParkUSA, Geneva Pipe and Precast, Permalok, and Northwest Pipe Company brands primarily to installation contractors. Northwest Pipe Company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.