Head to Head Contrast: Brady (NYSE:BRC) versus Boyd Group Services (OTCMKTS:BYDGF)

Boyd Group Services (OTCMKTS:BYDGF) and Brady (NYSE:BRC) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Dividends

Boyd Group Services pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Brady pays an annual dividend of $0.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Boyd Group Services pays out 118.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Brady pays out 22.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brady has increased its dividend for 39 consecutive years. Brady is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.2% of Boyd Group Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.3% of Brady shares are held by institutional investors. 15.6% of Brady shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Boyd Group Services and Brady”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Boyd Group Services	$3.07 billion	1.11	$24.54 million	$0.37	427.62
Brady	$1.66 billion	2.37	$205.38 million	$4.31	19.47

Brady has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Boyd Group Services. Brady is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Boyd Group Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Boyd Group Services and Brady, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Boyd Group Services	0	0	4	0	3.00
Brady	0	0	2	0	3.00

Brady has a consensus price target of $103.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.72%. Given Brady’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Brady is more favorable than Boyd Group Services.

Profitability

This table compares Boyd Group Services and Brady’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Boyd Group Services	0.27%	2.70%	0.91%
Brady	12.36%	19.21%	13.83%

Volatility and Risk

Boyd Group Services has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brady has a beta of 0.61, indicating that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Brady beats Boyd Group Services on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Boyd Group Services

Boyd Group Services Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates non-franchised collision repair centers in North America. The company operates its locations under the Boyd Autobody & Glass and Assured Automotive names in Canada; and Gerber Collision & Glass name in the United States. It also operates as a retail auto glass operator under the Gerber Collision & Glass, Glass America, Auto Glass Service, Auto Glass Authority, and Autoglassonly.com names in the United States. In addition, the company operates a third-party administrator, Gerber National Claims Services that offers glass, emergency roadside, and first notice of loss services. It serves insurance companies and individual vehicle owners. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada.

About Brady

Brady Corporation manufactures and supplies identification solutions (IDS) and workplace safety (WPS) products to identify and protect premises, products, and people in the United States and internationally. The company offers materials, printing systems, RFID, and bar code scanners for product identification, brand protection labeling, work in process labeling, finished product identification, and industrial track and trace applications; safety signs, floor-marking tapes, pipe markers, labeling systems, spill control products, lockout/tagout device, and software and services for safety compliance auditing, procedure writing, and training; and hand-held printers, wire markers, sleeves, and tags for wire identification. It also provides name tags, badges, lanyards, rigid card printing systems, and access control software for people identification; and wristbands, labels, printing systems, and other products for tracking and improving the safety of patients. In addition, the company offers workplace safety, identification, and compliance products, such as safety and compliance signs, tags, labels, and markings; informational signage and markings; asset tracking labels; facility safety and personal protection equipment; first-aid products; and other compliance products for process, government, education, construction, and utilities industries. Further, it provides stock and custom identification products; and sells related resale products. The company serves industrial and electronic manufacturing, healthcare, chemical, oil, gas, automotive, aerospace, governments, mass transit, electrical contractors, education, leisure and entertainment, telecommunications, and other industries through distributors, direct sales force, and digital channels. Brady Corporation was incorporated in 1914 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.