Contrasting Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) and MasterBrand (NYSE:MBC)

MasterBrand (NYSE:MBC) and Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for MasterBrand and Caesarstone, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MasterBrand	1	1	0	0	1.50
Caesarstone	1	0	0	0	1.00

MasterBrand currently has a consensus target price of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 42.76%. Given MasterBrand’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe MasterBrand is more favorable than Caesarstone.

Volatility & Risk

MasterBrand has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Caesarstone has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.3% of MasterBrand shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.7% of Caesarstone shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of MasterBrand shares are held 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.

Profitability

This table compares MasterBrand and Caesarstone’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MasterBrand	-3.49%	3.65%	1.60%
Caesarstone	-37.37%	-32.36%	-11.71%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MasterBrand and Caesarstone”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MasterBrand	$2.73 billion	0.52	$26.70 million	($0.69)	-10.15
Caesarstone	$397.23 million	0.26	-$137.47 million	($4.13)	-0.73

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

Summary

MasterBrand beats Caesarstone on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MasterBrand

MasterBrand, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of residential cabinets in the United States and Canada. The company offers a range of residential cabinetry products for the kitchen, bathroom, and other parts of the home. It sells its products to remodeling and new construction markets through dealers, retailers, and builders. The company was formerly known as United Cabinet Incorporated. MasterBrand, Inc. was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Beachwood, Ohio.

About Caesarstone

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company’s engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors. Its products are also used in other applications, such as vanity tops, wall panels, back splashes, floor tiles, stairs, furniture, and other interior and exterior surfaces that are used in various residential and non-residential applications. The company also offers porcelain products under the Lioli brand for countertops, flooring, and cladding applications; sells natural stone, sinks, and various ancillary fabrication tools and materials; and resells natural stones, as well as various ancillaries, and fabrication and installation accessories, as well as provides fabrication and installation services. It sells its products directly to wholesalers, resellers, and fabricators; and through direct sales force and indirect network of independent distributors. The company was formerly known as Caesarstone Sdot Yam Ltd. and changed its name to Caesarstone Ltd. in June 2016. Caesarstone Ltd. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Menashe, Israel.