Watsco (NYSE:WSO) & Gold.com (NYSE:GOLD) Head to Head Contrast

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

Profitability

This table compares Gold.com and Watsco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Gold.com	0.34%	17.13%	3.74%
Watsco	6.31%	13.97%	9.69%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

62.8% of Gold.com shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.7% of Watsco shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.5% of Gold.com shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.9% of Watsco shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Gold.com pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Watsco pays an annual dividend of $13.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Gold.com pays out 26.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Watsco pays out 116.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Watsco has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Watsco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

Gold.com has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Watsco has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Gold.com and Watsco, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Gold.com	1	1	4	0	2.50
Watsco	0	8	2	0	2.20

Gold.com currently has a consensus target price of $58.00, indicating a potential upside of 56.29%. Watsco has a consensus target price of $373.62, indicating a potential upside of 19.25%. Given Gold.com’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Gold.com is more favorable than Watsco.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Gold.com and Watsco”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Gold.com	$25.10 billion	0.04	$82.34 million	$3.01	12.33
Watsco	$7.24 billion	1.79	$496.99 million	$11.32	27.68

Watsco has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Gold.com. Gold.com is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Watsco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Watsco beats Gold.com on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Gold.com

Gold.com, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a precious metals company. It operates through three segments: Wholesale Sales & Ancillary Services, Direct-to-Consumer, and Secured Lending. The Wholesale Sales & Ancillary Services segment sells gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in the form of bars, plates, powders, wafers, grains, ingots, and coins. This segment also offers complementary services, such as receiving, handling, inventorying, processing, packing, and shipping of precious metals and custom coins on a secure basis; and designs and produces minted silver products.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc. distributes air-conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment and related parts and supplies. Its products serve residential and light commercial applications, including systems used in homes and businesses, as well as components and supplies for contractors who install and maintain them. The company sells products from a range of manufacturers through a network of distribution locations and digital platforms. Watsco serves customers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, supporting the installation, repair, and replacement of HVAC and refrigeration systems.