Distribution Solutions Group (NASDAQ:DSGR) & Reliance (NYSE:RS) Critical Survey

Distribution Solutions Group (NASDAQ:DSGR) and Reliance (NYSE:RS) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Distribution Solutions Group and Reliance”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Distribution Solutions Group	$1.98 billion	0.81	$8.35 million	$0.19	183.21
Reliance	$14.29 billion	1.40	$739.40 million	$17.20	22.82

Reliance has higher revenue and earnings than Distribution Solutions Group. Reliance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Distribution Solutions Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Distribution Solutions Group and Reliance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Distribution Solutions Group	0.44%	9.33%	3.41%
Reliance	5.65%	12.51%	8.47%

Volatility and Risk

Distribution Solutions Group has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Reliance has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.6% of Distribution Solutions Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.3% of Reliance shares are held by institutional investors. 78.8% of Distribution Solutions Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Reliance shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Distribution Solutions Group and Reliance, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Distribution Solutions Group	0	4	0	0	2.00
Reliance	1	5	2	1	2.33

Distribution Solutions Group currently has a consensus price target of $35.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.55%. Reliance has a consensus price target of $379.83, suggesting a potential downside of 3.23%. Given Distribution Solutions Group’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Distribution Solutions Group is more favorable than Reliance.

Summary

Reliance beats Distribution Solutions Group on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Distribution Solutions Group

Distribution Solutions Group, Inc., a specialty distribution company, engages in the provision of value-added distribution solutions in North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East. The company provides its solutions to the maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO); original equipment manufacturer (OEM); and industrial technology markets. It operates through three segments: Lawson, Gexpro Services, and TestEquity. The Lawson segment distributes of specialty products and services to the industrial, commercial, institutional, and government MRO market. The TestEquity segment distributes test and measurement equipment and solutions, industrial and electronic production supplies, and vendor managed inventory programs, as well as converting, fabrication, and adhesive solutions under the TestEquity, Hisco, TEquipment, Techni-Tool, Jensen Tools, and Instrumex brands. The Gexpro Services segment provides supply chain management solutions that offer VMI, kitting, global logistics management, manufacturing localization and import expertise, value engineering, and quality assurance. The company was formerly known as Lawson Products, Inc. and has changed to Distribution Solutions Group, Inc. 2022 Distribution Solutions Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1952 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

About Reliance

Reliance, Inc. operates as a diversified metal solutions provider and the metals service center company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, and specialty steel products; and provides metals processing services to general manufacturing, non-residential construction, transportation, aerospace, energy, electronics and semiconductor fabrication, and heavy industries. It sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers, which primarily include small machine shops and fabricators. The company was formerly known as Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. and changed its name to Reliance, Inc. in February 2024. Reliance, Inc. was founded in 1939 and is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.