Obayashi (OTCMKTS:OBYCF) versus Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) Head to Head Contrast

Obayashi (OTCMKTS:OBYCF) and Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

84.0% of Latham Group shares are held by institutional investors. 8.6% of Latham Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Obayashi and Latham Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Obayashi	$17.21 billion	0.81	$976.81 million	$1.59	12.08
Latham Group	$508.52 million	1.50	-$17.86 million	($0.10)	-65.60

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

Volatility & Risk

Obayashi has a beta of 0.34, suggesting that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Latham Group has a beta of 1.71, suggesting that its stock price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Obayashi and Latham Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Obayashi	0	0	0	0	0.00
Latham Group	2	1	2	0	2.00

Latham Group has a consensus target price of $7.95, indicating a potential upside of 21.19%. Given Latham Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Latham Group is more favorable than Obayashi.

Profitability

This table compares Obayashi and Latham Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Obayashi	6.64%	9.41%	3.73%
Latham Group	-2.07%	-2.80%	-1.34%

About Obayashi

Obayashi Corporation engages in the construction business in Japan, North America, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Oceania. The company constructs buildings, including offices, condominiums, commercial facilities, factories, hospitals, and schools; and civil engineering projects, such as tunnels, bridges, dams, river works, urban civil engineering structures, railroads, and expressways. It is also involved in the development and leasing of real estate properties in various locations, primarily in urban areas, as well as property management activities; solar, biomass, geothermal, and wind power generation business; and PPP and agriculture business. In addition, the company provides non-life insurance agency business. Further, it engages in the provision of urban redevelopment, contracted operations, and facility management services, as well as M&E design and construction activities. The company was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Latham Group

Latham Group, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets in-ground residential swimming pools in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. It offers a portfolio of pools and related products, including in-ground swimming pools that include fiber glass and packaged pools; and pool covers and liners under the Latham, Narellan, CoverStar, Radiant, and GLI brand names. The company was formerly known as Latham Topco, Inc. and changed its name to Latham Group, Inc. in March 2021. Latham Group, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Latham, New York.