Taylor Devices (NASDAQ:TAYD) vs. Graham (NYSE:GHM) Head-To-Head Comparison

Taylor Devices (NASDAQ:TAYD) and Graham (NYSE:GHM) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

17.6% of Taylor Devices shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.5% of Graham shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.9% of Taylor Devices shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of Graham shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Taylor Devices and Graham’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Taylor Devices	21.52%	15.77%	14.31%
Graham	6.28%	13.26%	6.07%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Taylor Devices and Graham, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Taylor Devices	0	2	0	0	2.00
Graham	0	2	3	1	2.83

Graham has a consensus target price of $81.67, suggesting a potential downside of 12.19%. Given Graham’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Graham is more favorable than Taylor Devices.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Taylor Devices and Graham”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Taylor Devices	$46.29 million	3.49	$9.41 million	$3.30	15.20
Graham	$209.90 million	5.17	$12.23 million	$1.35	68.89

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

Volatility & Risk

Taylor Devices has a beta of 1, meaning that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Graham has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Graham beats Taylor Devices on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Taylor Devices

Taylor Devices, Inc. engages in design, development, manufacture, and marketing of shock absorption, rate control, and energy storage devices for use in machinery, equipment, and structures in the United States, Asia, and internationally. Its products include seismic dampers that are designed to mitigate the effects of earthquakes on structures; Fluidicshoks, which are compact shock absorbers primarily used in defense, aerospace, and commercial industries; and crane and industrial buffers, which are larger versions of the Fluidicshoks for industrial application on cranes and crane trolleys, truck docks, ladle and ingot cars, ore trolleys, and train car stops. The company's products also comprise self-adjusting shock absorbers that include versions of Fluidicshoks, and crane and industrial buffers, which automatically adjust to various impact conditions and are designed for high cycle application primarily in the heavy industry; liquid die springs that are used as component parts of machinery and equipment used in the manufacture of tools and dies; vibration dampers, which are primarily used by aerospace and defense industries to control the response of electronics and optical systems subjected to air, ship, or spacecraft vibration; machined springs used in the aerospace applications; and custom actuators for special aerospace and defense applications. It markets its products through a network of sales representatives and distributors. The company was incorporated in 1955 and is headquartered in North Tonawanda, New York.

About Graham

Graham Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures fluid, power, heat transfer, and vacuum equipment for chemical and petrochemical processing, defense, space, petroleum refining, cryogenic, energy, and other industries. It offers power plant systems, including ejectors and surface condensers; torpedo ejection, propulsion, and power systems, such as turbines, alternators, regulators, pumps, and blowers; and thermal management systems comprising pumps, blowers, and drive electronics for defense sector. The company also provides rocket propulsion systems consisting of turbopumps and fuel pumps; cooling systems, which include pumps, compressors, fans, and blowers; and life support systems that comprise fans, pumps, and blowers for space industry. In addition, it offers heat transfer and vacuum systems, including ejectors, process and surface condensers, liquid ring pumps, heat exchangers, and nozzles; power generation systems, such as turbines, generators, compressors, and pumps; and thermal management systems comprising pumps, blowers, and electronics for energy sector. Further, the company offers heat transfer and vacuum systems consisting of ejectors, process and surface condensers, liquid ring pumps, heat exchangers, and nozzles for chemical and petrochemical processing industry. The company also services and sells spare parts for its equipment. It sells its products directly in the United States, the Middle East, Canada, Asia, South America, and internationally. Graham Corporation was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Batavia, New York.