Financial Survey: L.S. Starrett (NYSE:SCX) versus AB SKF (publ) (OTCMKTS:SKUFF)

AB SKF (publ) (OTCMKTS:SKUFF) and L.S. Starrett (NYSE:SCX) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AB SKF (publ) and L.S. Starrett’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AB SKF (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A	$3.70	5.56
L.S. Starrett	$256.18 million	0.47	$23.09 million	$2.57	6.23

L.S. Starrett has higher revenue and earnings than AB SKF (publ). AB SKF (publ) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than L.S. Starrett, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares AB SKF (publ) and L.S. Starrett’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AB SKF (publ)	N/A	N/A	N/A
L.S. Starrett	7.72%	3.45%	2.27%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

34.6% of AB SKF (publ) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.4% of L.S. Starrett shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.0% of L.S. Starrett shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for AB SKF (publ) and L.S. Starrett, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AB SKF (publ)	0	0	0	0	N/A
L.S. Starrett	0	0	0	0	N/A

Summary

L.S. Starrett beats AB SKF (publ) on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AB SKF (publ)

AB SKF (publ) designs, manufactures, and sells bearings and units, seals, lubrication systems, condition monitoring, and services worldwide. It operates in two segments, Industrial and Automotive. The company offers rolling, mounted and housings, super-precision, slewing, plain, magnetic, and thin section bearings; industrial and automotive seals; lubricants, manual lubrication tools, lubricators, automatic lubrication systems, and lubrication system components; maintenance products, such as hydraulic, mechanical, and alignment tools, as well as heaters; belts, pulleys, chains, sprockets, bushings and hubs, couplings, and bolts and tightening systems; condition monitoring systems; test and measuring equipment, such as waviness and roundness analyzers, noise and vibration testers, and grease test rigs, as well as calibration with traceability, machine training and support, and upgrades and refurbishment services; and vehicle aftermarket products. It also provides application engineering services consisting of technical consultancy, numerical simulation and design, and root cause analysis; asset management services, such as assessment and benchmarking, maintenance strategy review, spare parts and inventory management, and lubrication management; condition-based maintenance, including vibration analysis and diagnostics, thermography, lubrication analysis, and condition monitoring system installation; mechanical maintenance comprising mounting and dismounting, precision alignment, and balancing; remanufacturing and customization; and training solutions, which include instructor-led training, e-learning courses, and webinar recordings. The company serves the aerospace, agriculture, automotive, construction, food and beverage, general machinery, machine tools, marine, material handling, metals, mining, mineral processing, ocean energy, pulp and paper, railways, and wind industries. AB SKF (publ) was incorporated in 1907 and is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.

About L.S. Starrett

The L.S. Starrett Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells industrial, professional, and consumer measuring and cutting tools, and related products in North America, Brazil, and China. The company's products include precision tools, electronic gauges, gage blocks, optical vision and laser measuring equipment, custom engineered granite solutions, tape measures, levels, chalk products, squares, band saw blades, hole saws, hacksaw blades, jig saw blades, and reciprocating saw blades, as well as M1 lubricant and precision ground flat stock products. It also provides measuring tools, such as micrometers, vernier calipers, height distributors, depth gages, electronic gages, dial indicators, steel rules, combination squares, and custom and non-contact gaging such as vision, optical, and measurement systems. In addition, the company offers hand tools for measuring, marking, and layout that include tapes, levels, chalk lines, and other products for building trades, and construction and retail trades. It primarily distributes its precision hand tools, and saw and construction products through distributors or resellers. The company serves metalworking, wood, food, semi-conductor production, aerospace, medical, oil and gas, machinery, government, equipment, and automotive markets; marine and farm equipment shops, and DIY enthusiasts; and tradesmen, which comprise builders, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians. The L.S. Starrett Company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Athol, Massachusetts.