Knife River (NYSE:KNF) versus Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) Head to Head Survey

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) and Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) are both mid-cap construction companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

Knife River has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Simpson Manufacturing has a beta of 1.28, suggesting that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Knife River and Simpson Manufacturing’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Knife River	5.20%	10.58%	4.85%
Simpson Manufacturing	14.53%	17.72%	11.57%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.1% of Knife River shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.7% of Simpson Manufacturing shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Knife River shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Simpson Manufacturing shares are held 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Knife River and Simpson Manufacturing”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Knife River	$2.90 billion	1.27	$201.68 million	$2.69	24.11
Simpson Manufacturing	$2.23 billion	3.25	$322.22 million	$7.84	22.22

Simpson Manufacturing has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Knife River. Simpson Manufacturing is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Knife River, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Knife River and Simpson Manufacturing, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Knife River	1	1	5	0	2.57
Simpson Manufacturing	0	2	1	0	2.33

Knife River presently has a consensus price target of $106.83, indicating a potential upside of 64.71%. Simpson Manufacturing has a consensus price target of $191.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.62%. Given Knife River’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Knife River is more favorable than Simpson Manufacturing.

Summary

Simpson Manufacturing beats Knife River on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete. It also provides contracting service, such as heavy-civil construction, asphalt and concrete paving, and site development and grading. In addition, the company sells cement, merchandise, and other building materials and related services. The company sells its construction materials to public and private-sector customers, including federal, state, and municipal governments, as well as industrial, commercial and residential developers, and other private parties; and provides its contracting services to public-sector customers for the development and servicing of highways, local roads, bridges, and other public-infrastructure projects. Knife River Corporation was founded in 1917 and is based in Bismarck, North Dakota.

About Simpson Manufacturing

Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells structural solutions for wood, concrete, and steel connections. The company offers wood construction products, including connectors, truss plates, fastening systems, fasteners and shearwalls, and pre-fabricated lateral systems for use in light-frame construction; and concrete construction products comprising adhesives, specialty chemicals, mechanical anchors, carbide drill bits, powder actuated tools, fiber-reinforced materials, and other repair products for use in concrete, masonry, and steel construction, as well as grouts, coatings, sealers, mortars, fiberglass and fiber-reinforced polymer systems, and asphalt products for use in concrete construction repair, and strengthening and protection products. It also provides connectors and lateral products for wood framing, timber and offsite construction, structural steel construction, and cold-formed steel applications; and mechanical and adhesive anchors for concrete and masonry construction applications. In addition, the company offers engineering and design services, as well as software solutions that facilitate the specification, selection, and use of its products. It markets its products to the residential construction, light industrial and commercial construction, infrastructure construction, remodeling, and do-it-yourself markets in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Romania, Sweden, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The company was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.