Trimble (TRMB) & Its Peers Critical Analysis

Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) is one of 954 public companies in the “Software” industry, but how does it contrast to its rivals? We will compare Trimble to related businesses based on the strength of its institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, valuation and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Trimble has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trimble’s rivals have a beta of 1.25, indicating that their average stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Trimble and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Trimble	-2.77%	12.29%	7.67%
Trimble Competitors	-612.31%	21.01%	-8.89%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.2% of Trimble shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.8% of shares of all “Software” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Trimble shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.9% of shares of all “Software” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Trimble and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Trimble	1	2	9	0	2.67
Trimble Competitors	5714	21419	44677	1492	2.57

Trimble presently has a consensus price target of $79.56, indicating a potential upside of 22.51%. As a group, “Software” companies have a potential upside of 27.84%. Given Trimble’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Trimble has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Trimble and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Trimble	$3.59 billion	$424.00 million	-132.53
Trimble Competitors	$1.79 billion	$385.13 million	111.21

Trimble has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Trimble is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Trimble beats its rivals on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

Trimble Company Profile

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.