Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) vs. THK (OTCMKTS:THKLY) Critical Contrast

THK (OTCMKTS:THKLY) and Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

THK has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mueller Industries has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.5% of Mueller Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of Mueller Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for THK and Mueller Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
THK	0	1	0	0	2.00
Mueller Industries	0	0	3	0	3.00

Mueller Industries has a consensus target price of $75.50, suggesting a potential upside of 38.59%. Given Mueller Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Mueller Industries is more favorable than THK.

Dividends

THK pays an annual dividend of $0.37 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Mueller Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. THK pays out 123.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mueller Industries pays out 17.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mueller Industries has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares THK and Mueller Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
THK	$1.61 billion	2.59	-$468.27 million	$0.30	58.23
Mueller Industries	$4.18 billion	2.84	$765.19 million	$3.90	13.97

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

Profitability

This table compares THK and Mueller Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
THK	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mueller Industries	17.26%	25.23%	21.32%

Summary

Mueller Industries beats THK on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About THK

THK Co., Ltd. engages in the manufacture and sale of mechanical components worldwide. The company provides linear motion (LM) guides, ball screws, ball splines, LM guide actuators, cross roller rings/ double row angular contact ring, electric actuators, linear motor actuators, cam followers, roller followers, linear bushes, LM strokes, slide packs, slide rails, cross roller guides and tables, linear ball slides, LM and flat rollers, spline nuts, screw nuts, change nuts, precision linear packs, link balls, rod ends, spherical plain bearings, lubrication accessories, and seismic isolation products. Its products are used in various applications, including machine tools, general industrial machinery, precision instruments, semiconductor and LCD manufacturing equipment, industrial robots, electronic devices, and transport systems, as well as in construction, aerospace, medical and assistive, and other manufacturing industries. The company was incorporated in 1946 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Mueller Industries

Mueller Industries, Inc. manufactures and sells copper, brass, aluminum, and plastic products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, South Korea, the Middle East, China, and Mexico. It operates through three segments: Piping Systems, Industrial Metals, and Climate. The Piping Systems segment offers copper tubes, fittings, line sets, and pipe nipples. It also resells steel pipes, brass and plastic plumbing valves, malleable iron fittings and faucets, and plumbing specialties; and supplies water tubes. This segment sells its products to wholesalers in the plumbing and refrigeration markets, distributors to the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries, building material retailers, and air-conditioning original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Industrial Metals segment manufactures brass, bronze, and copper alloy rods; plumbing brass, valves, fittings, and gas assemblies; cold-form aluminum and copper products; machining of aluminum, steel, brass, and cast iron impacts and castings; brass and aluminum forgings; brass, aluminum, and stainless-steel valves; fluid control solutions; and gas train assembles to OEMs in the industrial, construction, HVAC, plumbing, and refrigeration markets. The Climate segment offers valves, protection devices, and brass fittings for various OEMs in the commercial HVAC and refrigeration markets; high-pressure components and accessories for the air-conditioning and refrigeration markets; coaxial heat exchangers and twisted tubes for the HVAC, geothermal, refrigeration, swimming pool heat pump, marine, ice machine, commercial boiler, and heat reclamation markets; and insulated HVAC flexible duct systems. Mueller Industries, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Collierville, Tennessee.