Tutor Perini (NYSE:TPC) and Matrix Service (NASDAQ:MTRX) Financial Comparison

Matrix Service (NASDAQ:MTRX) and Tutor Perini (NYSE:TPC) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Matrix Service and Tutor Perini, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Matrix Service	1	0	1	1	2.67
Tutor Perini	0	2	2	0	2.50

Matrix Service currently has a consensus target price of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 57.44%. Tutor Perini has a consensus target price of $105.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.09%. Given Matrix Service’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Matrix Service is more favorable than Tutor Perini.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Matrix Service and Tutor Perini”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Matrix Service	$873.63 million	0.34	-$2.58 million	($0.09)	-116.44
Tutor Perini	$5.54 billion	0.82	$80.44 million	$2.32	37.07

Tutor Perini has higher revenue and earnings than Matrix Service. Matrix Service is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tutor Perini, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Matrix Service has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tutor Perini has a beta of 2.06, indicating that its stock price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.4% of Matrix Service shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.0% of Tutor Perini shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Matrix Service shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Tutor Perini shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Matrix Service and Tutor Perini’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Matrix Service	-0.30%	5.32%	1.20%
Tutor Perini	2.08%	20.95%	5.15%

Summary

Tutor Perini beats Matrix Service on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Matrix Service

Matrix Service Company provides engineering, fabrication, construction, and maintenance services to support critical energy infrastructure and industrial markets in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Utility and Power Infrastructure; Process and Industrial Facilities; and Storage and Terminal Solutions. The Utility and Power Infrastructure segment offers power delivery services, including construction of new substations, upgrades of existing substations, transmission and distribution line installations, and upgrades and maintenance, and emergency and storm restoration services. This segment also provides engineering, fabrication, and construction services for LNG utility peak shaving facilities; and construction and maintenance services to power generation facilities, including natural gas fired facilities. The Process and Industrial Facilities segment engages in the refining and processing of crude oil; fractionating and marketing of natural, gas and natural gas liquids; and offers plant maintenance, turnarounds, engineering, industrial cleaning services, and capital construction services. The Storage and Terminal Solutions segment undertakes work related to aboveground crude oil and refined product storage tanks and terminals; engineering, procurement, fabrication, and construction services related to cryogenic and other specialty tanks and terminals for LNG, NGLs, hydrogen, ammonia, propane, butane, liquid nitrogen/liquid oxygen, and liquid petroleum; and provides plant work, truck and rail loading/offloading facilities, and marine structures, as well as storage tank and terminal maintenance and repair. This segment also manufactures and sells precision engineered specialty tank products, including geodesic domes, aluminum internal floating roofs, floating suction and skimmer systems, roof drain systems, and floating roof seals. Matrix Service Company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

About Tutor Perini

Tutor Perini Corporation, a construction company, provides diversified general contracting, construction management, and design-build services to private customers and public agencies in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Civil, Building, and Specialty Contractors. The Civil segment engages in the public works construction and the replacement and reconstruction of infrastructure; and offers contracting services, including construction and rehabilitation of highways, bridges, tunnels, mass-transit systems, military defense facilities, and water management and wastewater treatment facilities, as well as provides drilling, foundation, and excavation support for shoring, bridges, piers, roads, and highway projects. The Building segment offers range of services in various specialized building markets, such as hospitality and gaming, transportation, health care, commercial offices, government facilities, sports and entertainment, education, correctional and detention facilities, biotech, pharmaceutical, industrial, and technology. The Specialty Contractors segment provides electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and fire protection systems, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services (HVAC) for civil and building construction projects in industrial, commercial, hospitality and gaming, and mass-transit end markets. It also offers pre-construction planning and project management services comprising planning and scheduling of the manpower, equipment, materials, and subcontractor services; and self-performed construction services consisting of site work, concrete forming and placement, and steel erection. The company was formerly known as Perini Corporation and changed its name to Tutor Perini Corporation in May 2009. Tutor Perini Corporation was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Sylmar, California.