Head to Head Review: GATX (NYSE:GATX) and NPK International (NYSE:NPKI)

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) and GATX (NYSE:GATX) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares NPK International and GATX’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NPK International	14.00%	11.57%	9.33%
GATX	17.69%	10.62%	2.16%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for NPK International and GATX, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NPK International	0	1	1	0	2.50
GATX	0	0	4	0	3.00

NPK International currently has a consensus target price of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 73.79%. GATX has a consensus target price of $219.33, indicating a potential upside of 20.03%. Given NPK International’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe NPK International is more favorable than GATX.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NPK International and GATX”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NPK International	$277.04 million	2.61	$38.94 million	$0.50	17.26
GATX	$1.74 billion	3.66	$333.30 million	$10.77	16.97

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

80.8% of NPK International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.1% of GATX shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of NPK International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of GATX shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

NPK International has a beta of 1.54, suggesting that its stock price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GATX has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

GATX beats NPK International on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NPK International

NPK International Inc. provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Industrial Solutions segment offers composite matting system rentals utilized for temporary worksite access; related site construction and services to customers in various markets, including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction, and other industries primarily in the United States and Europe; recyclable composite mats to customers worldwide; and access road construction, site planning and preparation, environmental protection, erosion control, and site restoration services. The company was formerly known as Newpark Resources, Inc. and changed its name to NPK International Inc. in December 2024. The company was incorporated in 1932 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

About GATX

GATX Corporation, together its subsidiaries, operates as railcar leasing company in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and India. It operates through three segments: Rail North America, Rail International, and Portfolio Management. The company leases tank and freight railcars, and locomotives for petroleum, chemical, food/agriculture, and transportation industries. It also offers maintenance services, including the interior cleaning of railcars, routine maintenance and repair of car body and safety appliances, regulatory compliance works, wheelset replacements, interior blast and lining, exterior blast and painting, and car stenciling services. In addition, the company manufactures commercial aircraft jet engines and leases aircraft spare engines; and owns and manages tank containers that are leased to chemical, industrial gas, energy, food, cryogenic and pharmaceutical industries, and tank container operators, as well as provides tank container sourcing, remarketing, and inspection and maintenance services. As of December 31, 2023, it owned and operated a fleet of approximately 148,500 railcars; 493 four-axle and 30 six-axle locomotives; 399 aircraft spare engines; and 23,931 tank containers. GATX Corporation was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.