Construction Partners (NASDAQ:ROAD – Get Free Report) and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Construction Partners and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Construction Partners | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2.62 |
| Great Lakes Dredge & Dock | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Construction Partners currently has a consensus price target of $122.67, suggesting a potential upside of 58.94%. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a consensus price target of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. Given Construction Partners’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Construction Partners is more favorable than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
94.8% of Construction Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.1% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are held by institutional investors. 15.7% of Construction Partners shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Construction Partners and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Construction Partners | $2.81 billion | 1.56 | $101.78 million | $2.55 | 30.27 |
| Great Lakes Dredge & Dock | $888.28 million | 1.28 | $73.47 million | $1.07 | 15.89 |
Construction Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Construction Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Construction Partners has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Construction Partners and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Construction Partners | 4.10% | 16.06% | 4.59% |
| Great Lakes Dredge & Dock | 8.27% | 16.46% | 6.48% |
Summary
Construction Partners beats Great Lakes Dredge & Dock on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Construction Partners
Construction Partners, Inc., a civil infrastructure company, constructs and maintains roadways in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The company provides various products and services to public and private infrastructure projects, such as highways, roads, bridges, airports, and commercial and residential developments. It also engages in manufacturing and distributing hot mix asphalt (HMA) for internal use and sales to third parties in connection with construction projects; and paving activities, including the construction of roadway base layers and application of asphalt pavement. In addition, the company is involved in site development, including the installation of utility and drainage systems; mining aggregates, such as sand, gravel, and construction stones that are used as raw materials in the production of HMA; and distributing liquid asphalt cement for internal use and sales to third parties in connection with HMA production. The company was formerly known as SunTx CPI Growth Company, Inc. and changed its name to Construction Partners, Inc. in September 2017. Construction Partners, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Dothan, Alabama.
About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. engages in the provision of dredging services. Its projects include channel and port maintenance, channel deepening and port expansion, coastal protection and restoration, as well as land reclamation. The company was founded by William A. Lydon and Frederick C. Drews in 1890 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.
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