Contrasting Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) & Smith-Midland (NASDAQ:SMID)

Smith-Midland (NASDAQ:SMID) and Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Smith-Midland and Vulcan Materials”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smith-Midland	$93.40 million	1.16	$12.51 million	$1.45	14.07
Vulcan Materials	$7.94 billion	4.53	$1.08 billion	$8.45	33.15

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Smith-Midland and Vulcan Materials, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smith-Midland	0	1	0	0	2.00
Vulcan Materials	1	9	12	0	2.50

Vulcan Materials has a consensus target price of $311.94, suggesting a potential upside of 11.37%. Given Vulcan Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Vulcan Materials is more favorable than Smith-Midland.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

49.9% of Smith-Midland shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.4% of Vulcan Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of Smith-Midland shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Vulcan Materials shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Smith-Midland and Vulcan Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smith-Midland	8.59%	14.06%	8.75%
Vulcan Materials	13.77%	13.03%	6.65%

Volatility and Risk

Smith-Midland has a beta of 1.51, indicating that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vulcan Materials has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vulcan Materials beats Smith-Midland on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Smith-Midland

Smith-Midland Corporation designs, manufactures, sells, leases and installs precast concrete products for transportation, construction and infrastructure projects. Based in Midland, Virginia, the company was founded in 1960 and serves customers primarily in the eastern United States. Its products include J-J Hooks temporary concrete safety barriers for road and construction projects, SoftSound noise barriers and SlenderWall architectural cladding. The company also produces other precast products, including retaining walls and custom components, and licenses certain products to other manufacturers.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials, with its core business focused on aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel. These materials are used in roads, buildings and other infrastructure projects. The company also produces asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete, serving customers in the construction and infrastructure industries. Its operations are concentrated across the southern and western United States, as well as parts of the Mid-Atlantic region. Founded in 1909 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Vulcan Materials has grown into one of the largest producers of construction aggregates in the United States.