Analyzing INNOVATE (NYSE:VATE) & Primoris Services (NYSE:PRIM)

Primoris Services (NYSE:PRIM) and INNOVATE (NYSE:VATE) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Primoris Services and INNOVATE’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Primoris Services	1.92%	9.96%	3.67%
INNOVATE	-1.48%	N/A	-2.35%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.8% of Primoris Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.3% of INNOVATE shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Primoris Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 57.7% of INNOVATE shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Primoris Services and INNOVATE”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Primoris Services	$7.57 billion	0.60	$274.90 million	$2.55	32.84
INNOVATE	$1.25 billion	0.08	-$60.60 million	($1.87)	-3.82

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

Risk and Volatility

Primoris Services has a beta of 1.44, indicating that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, INNOVATE has a beta of 2.43, indicating that its share price is 143% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Primoris Services and INNOVATE, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Primoris Services	0	7	10	0	2.59
INNOVATE	1	0	0	0	1.00

Primoris Services currently has a consensus price target of $123.47, suggesting a potential upside of 47.44%. Given Primoris Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Primoris Services is more favorable than INNOVATE.

Summary

Primoris Services beats INNOVATE on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Primoris Services

Primoris Services Corporation, a specialty contractor company, provides a range of construction, fabrication, maintenance, replacement, and engineering services in the United States and Canada. It operates through three segments: Utilities, Energy/Renewables, and Pipeline Services. The Utilities segment offers installation and maintenance services for new and existing natural gas distribution systems, electric utility distribution and transmission systems, and communications systems. The Energy/Renewables segment provides a range of services, including engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as retrofits, highway and bridge construction, demolition, site work, soil stabilization, mass excavation, flood control, upgrades, repairs, outages, and maintenance services to renewable energy and energy storage, renewable fuels, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries, as well as state departments of transportation. The Pipeline Services segment offers a range of services comprising pipeline construction, maintenance, facility, and integrity services; installation of compressor and pump stations; and metering facilities for entities in the petroleum and petrochemical industries, as well as gas, water, and sewer utilities. The company was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About INNOVATE

INNOVATE Corp., through its subsidiaries, operates in infrastructure, life sciences, and spectrum areas in the United States. The Infrastructure segment provides industrial construction, structural steel, and facility maintenance services, such as fabrication and erection of structural steel and heavy steel plate services, and large-diameter water pipes and water storage tanks; fabrication of trusses and girders; and 3-D building information modeling and detailing for commercial, industrial, and infrastructure construction projects, such as buildings and office complexes, hotels and casinos, convention centers, sports arenas and stadiums, shopping malls, hospitals, dams, bridges, mines, metal processing, refineries, pulp and paper mills, and power plants. This segment also offers solutions for digital engineering, modeling and detailing, construction, and heavy equipment installation and facility services including maintenance, repair, and installation; and manufactures pollution control scrubbers, tunnel liners, pressure vessels, strainers, filters, separators, and customized products. The Life Sciences segment develops products to treat early osteoarthritis of the knee; and aesthetic and medical technologies for the skin. The Spectrum segment operates over-the-air broadcasting stations across the United States; and Azteca America, a Spanish-language broadcast network. The company was formerly known as HC2 Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to INNOVATE Corp. in September 2021. The company was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in New York, New York.