Contrasting Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) & Paragon Technologies (OTCMKTS:PGNT)

Paragon Technologies (OTCMKTS:PGNT) and Trinity Industries (NYSE:TRN) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Risk and Volatility

Paragon Technologies has a beta of 0.23, meaning that its stock price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trinity Industries has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Paragon Technologies and Trinity Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Paragon Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00
Trinity Industries	0	2	1	0	2.33

Trinity Industries has a consensus target price of $35.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.30%. Given Trinity Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Trinity Industries is more favorable than Paragon Technologies.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Paragon Technologies and Trinity Industries”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Paragon Technologies	$144.38 million	0.06	-$3.19 million	($1.36)	-3.45
Trinity Industries	$2.16 billion	1.16	$253.10 million	$4.15	7.58

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

Profitability

This table compares Paragon Technologies and Trinity Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Paragon Technologies	-1.62%	N/A	N/A
Trinity Industries	16.62%	18.51%	2.56%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.6% of Trinity Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Paragon Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Trinity Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Trinity Industries beats Paragon Technologies on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Paragon Technologies

Paragon Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the automation, distribution, and real estate activities in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. It offers various systems, software and services, including complete order fulfillment, assembly, product advancing systems, productivity, production and order fulfillment accuracy, and safety enhancements for automated material handling and order processing applications to distribution centers, manufacturers, and warehouses. The company provides towline conveyance used in heavy industrial products manufacturing and warehouses; and technologies composing patented A-Frame and Mobile-Matic robotic picking system. In addition, the company distributes servers, workstations, storage, networking, and audio-visual products, and power protection systems; notebook and desktop computers, printers, projectors, gaming products, and accessories; consumer electronics and home appliances; and offers managed services, printing, electronic documents management, and electronic invoicing, as well as high-capacity storage solutions to businesses. Further, it acquires, invests in, and manages residential real estate; and invests in businesses and marketable securities under the investment management policy. The company was formerly known as SI Handling Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Paragon Technologies, Inc. in April 2000. Paragon Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1958 and is headquartered in Easton, Pennsylvania.

About Trinity Industries

Trinity Industries, Inc. provides rail transportation products and services under the TrinityRail name in North America. It operates in two segments, Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group, and Rail Products Group. The Railcar Leasing and Management Services Group segment leases freight and tank railcars; originates and manages railcar leases for third-party investors; and provides fleet maintenance and management services. As of December 31, 2023, it had a fleet of 109,295 railcars. This segment serves industrial shipper and railroad companies operating in agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. The Rail Products Group segment manufactures freight and tank railcars for transporting various liquids, gases, and dry cargo; and offers railcar maintenance and modification services. This segment serves railroads, leasing companies, and industrial shippers of products in the agriculture, construction and metals, consumer products, energy, and refined products and chemicals markets. It sells or leases products and services through its own sales personnel and independent sales representatives. The company was incorporated in 1933 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.