Head-To-Head Contrast: Twin Disc (NASDAQ:TWIN) versus Paul Mueller (OTCMKTS:MUEL)

Twin Disc (NASDAQ:TWIN) and Paul Mueller (OTCMKTS:MUEL) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, dividends, risk and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Twin Disc has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paul Mueller has a beta of 0.1, meaning that its stock price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Twin Disc and Paul Mueller”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Twin Disc	$347.84 million	0.65	-$1.89 million	$0.02	788.50
Paul Mueller	$248.59 million	1.57	$29.67 million	$40.20	10.77

Paul Mueller has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Twin Disc. Paul Mueller is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Twin Disc, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

65.3% of Twin Disc shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.1% of Twin Disc shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Paul Mueller shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Twin Disc and Paul Mueller’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Twin Disc	0.10%	0.23%	0.10%
Paul Mueller	12.37%	36.21%	18.19%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Twin Disc and Paul Mueller, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Twin Disc	1	0	1	0	2.00
Paul Mueller	0	0	0	0	0.00

Twin Disc currently has a consensus price target of $12.00, suggesting a potential downside of 23.91%. Given Twin Disc’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Twin Disc is more favorable than Paul Mueller.

Dividends

Twin Disc pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Paul Mueller pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Twin Disc pays out 800.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Paul Mueller pays out 3.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Twin Disc beats Paul Mueller on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Twin Disc

Twin Disc, Incorporated engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of marine and heavy duty off-highway power transmission equipment in the United States, the Netherlands, China, Australia, Italy, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Manufacturing and Distribution. Its principal products include marine transmissions, azimuth drives, surface drives, propellers, and boat management systems, as well as power-shift transmissions, hydraulic torque converters, power take-offs, industrial clutches, and controls systems. The company also provides third-party manufactured products. It sells its products through a direct sales force and distributor network to customers primarily in the pleasure craft, commercial marine, patrol, and military marine markets, as well as in the energy and natural resources, government, agriculture, recycling, construction, oil and gas, and industrial markets. The company was incorporated in 1918 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Paul Mueller

Paul Mueller Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides manufactured equipment and components in the United States, North America, Asia, the Far East, the Netherlands, EU countries, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through four reportable segments: Dairy Farm Equipment, Industrial Equipment, Field Fabrication, and Transportation. The Dairy Farm Equipment segment offers milk cooling and storage equipment and accessories, refrigeration units, and heat recovery equipment for use on dairy farms to independent dealers for resale, and directly to farmers; and services for farmers, as well as milk coolers for rent to farmers. The Industrial Equipment segment sells food, beverage, chemical, and industrial processing equipment; and biopharmaceutical and pure water equipment, as well as stainless steel, alloy processing, storage tanks, and heat transfer products. The Field Fabrication segment sells large, field-fabricated tanks and vessels, such as stainless steel storage tanks for sanitary and industrial process applications. The Transportation segment offers delivery of products to customers; backhauls of materials and components; and contract carriage for third parties. It serves its products in various industries, including animal health, beverage, brewing, chemical, dairy farm, dairy processing, food, heat transfer, HVAC, industrial construction, oil and gas, personal care, pharmaceutical, pure water, tank fabrication, and wine. The company was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri.