Critical Survey: Limbach (NASDAQ:LMB) versus Rollins (NYSE:ROL)

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) and Limbach (NASDAQ:LMB) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Rollins and Limbach, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rollins	0	4	5	0	2.56
Limbach	0	0	4	0	3.00

Rollins currently has a consensus price target of $58.56, suggesting a potential upside of 2.23%. Limbach has a consensus price target of $115.33, suggesting a potential downside of 19.25%. Given Rollins’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Rollins is more favorable than Limbach.

Risk and Volatility

Rollins has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Limbach has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

51.8% of Rollins shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.9% of Limbach shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Rollins shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of Limbach shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Rollins and Limbach”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rollins	$3.39 billion	8.19	$466.38 million	$0.99	57.86
Limbach	$518.78 million	3.20	$30.88 million	$2.79	51.19

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

Profitability

This table compares Rollins and Limbach’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rollins	13.78%	37.31%	17.22%
Limbach	6.29%	27.66%	12.39%

Summary

Rollins beats Limbach on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rollins

Rollins, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides pest and wildlife control services to residential and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers pest control services to residential properties protecting from common pests, including rodents, insects, and wildlife. It also provides workplace pest control solutions for customers across various end markets, such as healthcare, foodservice, and logistics. In addition, the company offers termite protection services and ancillary services. It serves clients directly, as well as through franchisee operations. The company was formerly known as Rollins Broadcasting, Inc and changed its name to Rollins, Inc. in 1965. Rollins, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Limbach

Limbach Holdings, Inc. operates as a building systems solution company in the United States. It operates through two segments, General Contractor Relationships and Owner Direct Relationships. The company engages in the construction and renovation projects that involve primarily include mechanical, plumbing, and electrical services. It also provides critical system repair, MEP infrastructure projects, maintenance contracts, building automation upgrades, data driven insights, and program management services. In addition, it offers captive engineering capabilities, estimating and virtual design; and professional engineering, energy analysis, estimation, and detail design and three-dimensional building installation coordination services. The company serves research, acute care, and inpatient hospitals; public and private colleges, universities, research centers; sports arenas; entertainment facilities, and amusement rides and parks; data centers; automotive, energy and general manufacturing plants; and life sciences, including organizations and companies, whose work is centered around research and development focused on living things. Limbach Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania.