Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) vs. Sono-Tek (NASDAQ:SOTK) Head to Head Analysis

Sono-Tek (NASDAQ:SOTK) and Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

47.9% of Sono-Tek shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.8% of Valmont Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of Sono-Tek shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Valmont Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Sono-Tek has a beta of -0.02, indicating that its share price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Valmont Industries has a beta of 1.34, indicating that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Sono-Tek and Valmont Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sono-Tek	0	2	0	0	2.00
Valmont Industries	0	2	4	0	2.67

Sono-Tek presently has a consensus price target of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 89.73%. Valmont Industries has a consensus price target of $587.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.23%. Given Sono-Tek’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Sono-Tek is more favorable than Valmont Industries.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sono-Tek and Valmont Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sono-Tek	$20.91 million	3.37	$1.81 million	$0.13	34.46
Valmont Industries	$4.23 billion	2.16	$334.78 million	$25.68	18.40

Valmont Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Sono-Tek. Valmont Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sono-Tek, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Sono-Tek and Valmont Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sono-Tek	9.62%	10.55%	8.30%
Valmont Industries	11.70%	25.57%	12.44%

Summary

Valmont Industries beats Sono-Tek on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sono-Tek

Sono-Tek Corporation designs and manufactures ultrasonic coating systems for applying on parts and components for the microelectronics/electronics, alternative energy, medical, industrial, and research and development/other markets worldwide. The company also designs and manufactures custom-engineered ultrasonic coating systems; and provides nozzles and generators for manufacturers' equipment. Its products include integrated multi-axis coating systems, integrated coating systems, fluxing systems, OEM systems, and other related systems. In addition, the company provides surface coating solutions and application consulting services. It markets and distributes its products through direct sales personnel, select independent distributors, and sales representatives. The company was incorporated in 1975 and is based in Milton, New York.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc. operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications. It also offers galvanizing, anodizing, painting, and powder coating services for paint products; towers, small cell structures, camouflage concealment solutions, passive intermodulation mitigation equipment, and components for wireless communication markets; and solar single-axis tracker product, an integrated system of steel structures, electric motors, and electronic controllers, as well as provides coatings services to preserve metal products. In addition, the company manufactures center pivot components and linear irrigation equipment for the agricultural markets, such as parts and tubular products for industrial customers; advanced technology solutions for agricultural sector; mechanical irrigation equipment and service parts under the Valley brand name. It serves municipalities and government entities, commercial lighting fixtures manufacturing companies, contractors, telecommunications and utility companies, and farmers, as well as the general manufacturing sector. Valmont Industries, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.