Head to Head Analysis: Taylor Devices (NASDAQ:TAYD) and Lindsay (NYSE:LNN)

Taylor Devices (NASDAQ:TAYD) and Lindsay (NYSE:LNN) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Taylor Devices and Lindsay, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Taylor Devices	0	3	0	1	2.50
Lindsay	1	2	0	0	1.67

Taylor Devices currently has a consensus target price of $65.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.30%. Lindsay has a consensus target price of $119.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.85%. Given Taylor Devices’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Taylor Devices is more favorable than Lindsay.

Profitability

This table compares Taylor Devices and Lindsay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Taylor Devices	17.50%	9.64%	8.90%
Lindsay	8.75%	10.96%	6.74%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Taylor Devices and Lindsay”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Taylor Devices	$41.65 million	4.53	$8.56 million	$2.07	28.21
Lindsay	$635.86 million	1.73	$55.65 million	$5.32	20.36

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

Volatility and Risk

Taylor Devices has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lindsay has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

17.6% of Taylor Devices shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.9% of Lindsay shares are held by institutional investors. 7.7% of Taylor Devices shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Lindsay shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Taylor Devices beats Lindsay on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Taylor Devices

Taylor Devices, Inc. is a designer and manufacturer of shock absorption, vibration control and energy-dissipation products. Its solutions are used to protect structures, equipment and personnel from the effects of impact, vibration, seismic activity and other dynamic forces. The company’s products include fluidic shock absorbers, seismic dampers, structural dampers, custom energy-absorption systems and vibration-isolation equipment. These products serve a range of applications in aerospace, defense, industrial machinery, infrastructure and building construction.

About Lindsay

Lindsay Corporation is a manufacturer of irrigation and infrastructure equipment. Founded in 1955 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company is best known for its Zimmatic center-pivot and lateral-move irrigation systems, which help farmers apply water to crops. Its agricultural technology offerings also include FieldNET, a platform for remotely monitoring and controlling irrigation equipment. Lindsay’s infrastructure business supplies products and systems for transportation safety and traffic management.