Reviewing Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) & Grafton Group (OTCMKTS:GROUF)

Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) and Grafton Group (OTCMKTS:GROUF) are both construction companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Latham Group has a beta of 1.71, meaning that its stock price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Grafton Group has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Latham Group and Grafton Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Latham Group	$508.52 million	1.70	-$17.86 million	($0.12)	-61.75
Grafton Group	$2.92 billion	0.74	$155.92 million	N/A	N/A

Grafton Group has higher revenue and earnings than Latham Group.

Profitability

This table compares Latham Group and Grafton Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Latham Group	-2.54%	-3.35%	-1.61%
Grafton Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Latham Group and Grafton Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Latham Group	2	0	3	0	2.20
Grafton Group	0	0	1	0	3.00

Latham Group currently has a consensus price target of $7.95, indicating a potential upside of 7.29%. Given Latham Group’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Latham Group is more favorable than Grafton Group.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

84.0% of Latham Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.2% of Grafton Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.9% of Latham Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

About Latham Group

Latham Group, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets in-ground residential swimming pools in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. It offers a portfolio of pools and related products, including in-ground swimming pools that include fiber glass and packaged pools; and pool covers and liners under the Latham, Narellan, CoverStar, Radiant, and GLI brand names. The company was formerly known as Latham Topco, Inc. and changed its name to Latham Group, Inc. in March 2021. Latham Group, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Latham, New York.

About Grafton Group

Grafton Group plc engages in the distribution, retailing, and manufacturing businesses in Ireland, the Netherlands, Finland, and the United Kingdom. Its Distribution segment distributes building materials, paint, tools, ironmongery, fixings, and accessories, workwear and PPE, and spare parts; materials and plant for mechanical services, heating, plumbing, and air movement; and trade, DIY, and self-build markets with building materials, timber, doors and floors, plumbing and heating, bathrooms, and landscaping products under the Selco, Leyland SDM, Chadwicks, MacBlair, Isero, Polvo, Gunters en Meuser, TG Lynes, and IKH brands. The company’s Retailing segment retails home and garden products through stores, including DIY products, paints, lighting products, homestyle products, housewares, bathroom products, and kitchens, as well as gardening and Christmas products under the Woodie’s brand. Its Manufacturing segment manufactures dry mortars and wooden staircases; and drainage, ducting and roofline systems under the CPI Mortar, StairBox, and MFP brand names. Grafton Group plc was founded in 1902 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.