Contrasting Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) and Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB)

Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) and Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Gorman-Rupp and Trimble”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gorman-Rupp	$682.39 million	2.81	$53.02 million	$2.23	32.57
Trimble	$3.59 billion	3.64	$424.00 million	$1.90	29.46

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

59.3% of Gorman-Rupp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Trimble shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.6% of Gorman-Rupp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Trimble shares are owned by company 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 Gorman-Rupp and Trimble’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gorman-Rupp	8.45%	15.08%	7.18%
Trimble	12.38%	11.61%	7.32%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Gorman-Rupp and Trimble, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gorman-Rupp	0	1	1	1	3.00
Trimble	0	2	10	0	2.83

Trimble has a consensus target price of $90.00, indicating a potential upside of 60.80%. Given Trimble’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Trimble is more favorable than Gorman-Rupp.

Risk and Volatility

Gorman-Rupp has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trimble has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Trimble beats Gorman-Rupp on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gorman-Rupp

The Gorman-Rupp Company designs, manufactures, and sells pumps and pump systems in the United States and internationally. The company’s products include self-priming centrifugal, standard centrifugal, magnetic drive centrifugal, axial and mixed flow, vertical turbine line shaft, submersible, high-pressure booster, rotary gear, diaphragm, bellows, and oscillating pumps. Its products are used in water, wastewater, construction, dewatering, industrial, petroleum, original equipment, agriculture, fire suppression, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, military, and other liquid-handling applications. The company markets its products through a network of distributors, manufacturers’ representatives, third-party distributor catalogs, direct sales, and e-commerce. The Gorman-Rupp Company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Mansfield, Ohio.

About Trimble

Trimble Inc. provides technology solutions that enable professionals and field mobile workers to enhance or transform their work processes worldwide. The company's Buildings and Infrastructure segment offers field and office software for project design and visualization; systems to guide and control construction equipment; software for 3D design and data sharing; systems to monitor, track, and manage assets, equipment, and workers; software to share and communicate data; program management solutions for construction owners; 3D conceptual design and modeling software; building information modeling software; enterprise resource planning, project management, and project collaboration solutions; integrated site layout and measurement systems; cost estimating, scheduling, and project controls solutions; and applications for sub-contractors and trades. Its Geospatial segment provides surveying and geospatial products, and geographic information systems. The company's Resources and Utilities segment offers precision agriculture products and services, such as guidance and positioning systems, including autonomous steering systems, automated and variable-rate application and technology systems, and information management solutions; manual and automated navigation guidance for tractors and other farm equipment; solutions to automate application of pesticide and seeding; water solutions; and agricultural software. Its Transportation segment offers solutions for long haul trucking and freight shipper markets; mobility solutions comprising route management, safety and compliance, end-to-end vehicle management, video intelligence, and supply chain communications; and fleet and transportation management systems, analytics, routing, mapping, reporting, and predictive modeling solutions. The company was formerly known as Trimble Navigation Limited and changed its name to Trimble Inc. in October 2016. Trimble Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado.