3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) & IDEX (NYSE:IEX) Critical Contrast

IDEX (NYSE:IEX) and 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

IDEX has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 3D Systems has a beta of 2.75, meaning that its stock price is 175% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares IDEX and 3D Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IDEX	14.49%	15.69%	9.10%
3D Systems	-14.15%	-19.56%	-8.92%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for IDEX and 3D Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IDEX	0	2	9	0	2.82
3D Systems	1	1	3	0	2.40

IDEX currently has a consensus price target of $260.27, indicating a potential upside of 13.07%. 3D Systems has a consensus price target of $5.50, indicating a potential upside of 54.49%. Given 3D Systems’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe 3D Systems is more favorable than IDEX.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares IDEX and 3D Systems”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
IDEX	$3.59 billion	4.73	$483.20 million	$6.95	33.12
3D Systems	$386.90 million	1.53	$29.88 million	($0.41)	-8.68

IDEX has higher revenue and earnings than 3D Systems. 3D Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than IDEX, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.0% of IDEX shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.5% of 3D Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of IDEX shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of 3D Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

IDEX beats 3D Systems on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About IDEX

IDEX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides applied solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Fluid & Metering Technologies (FMT), Health & Science Technologies (HST), and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products (FSDP). The FMT segment designs, produces, and distributes positive displacement pumps, valves, small volume provers, flow meters, injectors, and other fluid-handling pump modules and systems, as well as flow monitoring and other services for the food, chemical, general industrial, water and wastewater, agricultural, and energy industries. The HST segment designs, produces, and distributes precision fluidics positive displacement pumps, powder and liquid processing technologies, drying systems, micro-precision components, pneumatic components and sealing solutions, high performance molded and extruded sealing components, custom mechanical and shaft seals, engineered hygienic mixers and valves, biocompatible medical devices and implantables, air compressors and blowers, optical components and coatings, laboratory and commercial equipment, and precision photonic solutions. This segment serves food and beverage, life sciences, analytical instruments, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical, industrial, semiconductor, automotive/transportation, medical/dental, energy, cosmetics, marine, chemical, wastewater and water treatment, research and aerospace/defense markets. The FSDP segment designs, produces, and distributes firefighting pumps, valves and controls, rescue tools, lifting bags, and other components and systems for the fire and rescue industry; engineered stainless steel banding and clamping devices for various industrial and commercial applications; and precision equipment for dispensing, metering, and mixing colorants and paints used in retail and commercial businesses. IDEX Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.

About 3D Systems

3D Systems Corporation provides 3D printing and digital manufacturing solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company offers 3D printers technologies, such as stereolithography, selective laser sintering, direct metal printing, multi jet printing, color jet printing, polymer extrusion, and extrusion and SLA based bioprinting that transform digital data input generated by 3D design software, computer aided design (CAD) software, or other 3D design tools into printed parts. It also develops, blends, and markets various print materials, such as plastic, nylon, metal, composite, elastomeric, wax, polymeric dental materials, and biocompatible materials. In addition, the company provides digital design tools, including software, scanners, and haptic devices, as well as solutions for product design, simulation, mold and die design, 3D scan-to-print, reverse engineering, production machining, metrology, and inspection and manufacturing workflows under the Geomagic brand. Further, it offers 3D Sprint and 3DXpert, a proprietary software to prepare and optimize CAD data and manage the additive manufacturing processes, which provides automated support building and placement, build platform management, print simulation, and print queue management; and Bioprint Pro, a software solution that allows researchers to design and bioprint repeatable experiments. Additionally, the company provides maintenance and training services; manufacturing services; and software and precision healthcare services. It primarily serves companies and small and midsize businesses in medical, dental, automotive, aerospace, durable goods, government, defense, technology, jewelry, electronic, education, consumer goods, energy, biotechnology, and other industries through direct sales force, channel partners, and appointed distributors. 3D Systems Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Rock Hill, South Carolina.