Head to Head Survey: Watsco (NYSE:WSO) and Capstone Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPS)

Capstone Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPS) and Watsco (NYSE:WSO) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Capstone Therapeutics and Watsco, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Capstone Therapeutics	1	0	0	0	1.00
Watsco	0	9	2	0	2.18

Watsco has a consensus price target of $395.50, indicating a potential upside of 25.34%. Given Watsco’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Watsco is more favorable than Capstone Therapeutics.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

2.5% of Capstone Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.7% of Watsco shares are owned by institutional investors. 39.3% of Capstone Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.9% of Watsco shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Capstone Therapeutics has a beta of -1.5, meaning that its stock price is 250% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Watsco has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Capstone Therapeutics and Watsco”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Capstone Therapeutics	$48.11 million	0.08	-$21.23 million	($3.35)	-0.06
Watsco	$7.24 billion	1.80	$496.99 million	$11.53	27.37

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

Profitability

This table compares Capstone Therapeutics and Watsco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Capstone Therapeutics	-36.51%	-144.43%	-40.48%
Watsco	6.53%	14.40%	10.17%

Summary

Watsco beats Capstone Therapeutics on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Capstone Therapeutics

Capstone Therapeutics Corp., a biotechnology company, develops novel peptides and other molecules for helping patients with under-served medical conditions in the United States. It develops Apo E mimetic peptide molecule AEM-28 and its analogs that have completed Phase Ia and Phase Ib/IIa clinical trials for lipoprotein metabolism. The company was formerly known as OrthoLogic Corp. and changed its name to Capstone Therapeutics Corp. in May 2010. Capstone Therapeutics Corp. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies in the United States and internationally. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment. It also offers parts comprising replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors, and other component parts; and supplies, such as thermostats, insulation materials, refrigerants, ductworks, grills, registers, sheet metals, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tapes, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies, as well as plumbing and bathroom remodeling supplies. The company serves contractors and dealers that service the replacement and new construction markets for residential and light commercial central air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration systems. Watsco, Inc. was incorporated in 1956 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.