Astec Industries (ASTE) Competitors

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) and Eaton (NYSE:ETN) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Which has more volatility and risk, ASTE or ETN?

Astec Industries has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eaton has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ASTE or ETN more profitable?

Eaton has a net margin of 15.11% compared to Astec Industries' net margin of 3.50%. Eaton's return on equity of 23.91% beat Astec Industries' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astec Industries	3.50%	11.52%	7.07%
Eaton	15.11%	23.91%	11.38%

Is ASTE or ETN a better dividend stock?

Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Eaton pays an annual dividend of $4.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Astec Industries pays out 26.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eaton pays out 41.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Does the media prefer ASTE or ETN?

In the previous week, Eaton had 43 more articles in the media than Astec Industries. MarketBeat recorded 47 mentions for Eaton and 4 mentions for Astec Industries. Eaton's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat Astec Industries' score of 0.88 indicating that Eaton is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Astec Industries	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Eaton	43 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, ASTE or ETN?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astec Industries	$1.31B	0.79	$4.30M	$1.99	22.77
Eaton	$24.88B	5.53	$3.79B	$9.94	35.58

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in ASTE or ETN?

93.2% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Eaton shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Astec Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Eaton shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer ASTE or ETN?

Astec Industries currently has a consensus price target of $41.00, suggesting a potential downside of 9.51%. Eaton has a consensus price target of $383.63, suggesting a potential upside of 8.48%. Given Eaton's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Eaton is more favorable than Astec Industries.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astec Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Eaton	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70

Summary

Eaton beats Astec Industries on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.