Reviewing Graco (NYSE:GGG) and Manitowoc (NYSE:MTW)

Manitowoc (NYSE:MTW) and Graco (NYSE:GGG) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.7% of Manitowoc shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.9% of Graco shares are held by institutional investors. 4.0% of Manitowoc shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Graco shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Manitowoc and Graco”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Manitowoc	$2.24 billion	0.34	$7.20 million	$0.55	38.29
Graco	$2.24 billion	5.57	$521.84 million	$3.18	24.19

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

Volatility & Risk

Manitowoc has a beta of 1.77, suggesting that its share price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Graco has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Manitowoc and Graco, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Manitowoc	2	1	0	0	1.33
Graco	0	5	2	0	2.29

Manitowoc currently has a consensus target price of $14.00, indicating a potential downside of 33.52%. Graco has a consensus target price of $95.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.50%. Given Graco’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Graco is more favorable than Manitowoc.

Profitability

This table compares Manitowoc and Graco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manitowoc	0.87%	3.86%	1.43%
Graco	23.53%	19.54%	15.86%

Summary

Graco beats Manitowoc on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Manitowoc

The Manitowoc Company, Inc. provides engineered lifting solutions in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It designs, manufactures, and distributes crawler-mounted lattice-boom cranes under the Manitowoc brand; a line of top-slewing and self-erecting tower cranes under the Potain brand; mobile hydraulic cranes under the Grove, Shuttlelift, and National Crane brands; and hydraulic boom trucks under the National Crane brand. The company also provides aftermarket services, such as sale of parts and accessories, field service work, routine maintenance services, technical support, erection and decommissioning services, crane and component remanufacturing, training, and telematics services. Its crane products are used in various applications, including energy production/distribution and utilities; petrochemical and industrial; infrastructure, such as road, bridge, and airport construction; and commercial and residential construction. The company serves a range of customers, including dealers, rental companies, contractors, and government entities in the petrochemical, industrial, commercial construction, power and utilities, infrastructure, and residential construction end markets. The Manitowoc Company, Inc. was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Graco

Graco Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors. The Industrial segment provides liquid finishing equipment, paint circulating and supply pumps, paint circulating advanced control systems, plural component coating proportioners, and accessories and spare parts; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions. It also offers powder finishing products to coat powder finishing on metals under the Gema and SAT brands. The Process segment provides pumps to move and dispense chemicals, water, wastewater, petroleum, food, lubricants, and other fluids; pressure valves used in the oil and natural gas industry, other industrial processes, and research facilities; and chemical injection pumping solutions for injection of chemicals into producing oil wells and pipelines. It also supplies pumps, hose reels, meters, valves, and accessories for fast oil change facilities, service garages, fleet service centers, automobile dealerships, auto parts stores, truck builders, and heavy equipment service centers; and systems, components, and accessories for the automatic lubrication of bearings, gears, and generators in industrial and commercial equipment, compressors, turbines, and on- and off-road vehicles. It sells its products through distributors, original equipment manufacturers, and home center channels, as well as to end-users. The company was incorporated in 1926 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.