Contrasting SiteOne Landscape Supply (NYSE:SITE) and Ferguson (OTCMKTS:FERGY)

SiteOne Landscape Supply (NYSE:SITE) and Ferguson (OTCMKTS:FERGY) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.2% of Ferguson shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of SiteOne Landscape Supply shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for SiteOne Landscape Supply and Ferguson, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SiteOne Landscape Supply	2	5	7	0	2.36
Ferguson	0	0	0	0	0.00

SiteOne Landscape Supply presently has a consensus price target of $135.27, indicating a potential upside of 38.93%. Given SiteOne Landscape Supply’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe SiteOne Landscape Supply is more favorable than Ferguson.

Profitability

This table compares SiteOne Landscape Supply and Ferguson’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SiteOne Landscape Supply	3.41%	9.76%	4.83%
Ferguson	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

SiteOne Landscape Supply has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ferguson has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SiteOne Landscape Supply and Ferguson”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SiteOne Landscape Supply	$4.77 billion	0.89	$155.40 million	$3.65	26.68
Ferguson	$27.54 billion	9.76	$961.00 million	$0.65	183.83

Ferguson has higher revenue and earnings than SiteOne Landscape Supply. SiteOne Landscape Supply is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ferguson, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

SiteOne Landscape Supply beats Ferguson on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SiteOne Landscape Supply

SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of landscape supplies in the United States and Canada. The company provides irrigation products, including controllers, valves, sprinkler heads, irrigation pipes, micro irrigation, and drip products; fertilizer, grass seed, and ice melt products; control products, such as herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, and other pesticides; landscape accessories that include mulches, soil amendments, drainage pipes, tools, and sods; nursery goods, which consist of deciduous and evergreen shrubs, ornamental, shade, evergreen trees, field grown and container-grown nursery stock, roses, perennials, annuals, bulbs, and plant species and cultivars; hardscapes, such as pavers, natural stones, blocks, and other durable materials; and outdoor lighting products that include lighting fixtures, LED lamps, wires, transformers, and accessories. It also offers consultative services consisting of assistance with irrigation project take-offs, commercial project planning, generation of sales leads, business operations, and product support services, as well as a series of technical and business management seminars; and distributes branded products of third parties. The company offers its products under the LESCO, SiteOne Green Tech, and Pro-Trade brand names. It markets its products primarily to residential and commercial landscape professionals who specializes in the design, installation, and maintenance of lawns, gardens, golf courses, and other outdoor spaces through branch network and direct distribution. SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Roswell, Georgia.

About Ferguson

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Central Europe. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, municipal, civil and industrial markets, and commercial sectors for repair, maintenance, and improvement (RMI), as well as new construction markets. The company also distributes pipes, valves, fittings, hydrants, meters, and related water management products, as well as offers related services, such as water line tapping and pipe fusion services. In addition, it distributes heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration equipment, and parts and supplies to specialist contractors in the residential and commercial markets for repair and replacement; and PVF products to industrial customers. Further, the company fabricates and supplies fire protection systems and bespoke fabrication services to commercial contractors for new construction and renovation projects, as well as offers products, services, and solutions to enable maintenance of facilities across various RMI markets. Additionally, it offers supply chain management solutions for PVF; and industrial maintenance, repair, and operations specializing in delivering automation, instrumentation, engineered products, and turn-key solutions. The company also sells its home improvement products directly to consumers, as well as through a network of online stores. In addition, it operates its B2B business primarily under the Ferguson brand; and B2C business under the Build.com brand. Further, the company provides products and services for maintenance of multi-family properties, government agencies, hospitality, education, healthcare, and other facilities. It operates a network of 2,194 branches and 19 distribution centers. Ferguson plc was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Wokingham, the United Kingdom.