Astec Industries (ASTE) Competitors

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

Which has more risk & volatility, ETN or ASTE?

Eaton has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astec Industries has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, ETN or ASTE?

Eaton has higher revenue and earnings than Astec Industries. Eaton is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astec Industries, 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
Eaton	$24.88B	5.70	$3.79B	$9.91	36.55
Astec Industries	$1.31B	0.68	$4.30M	$0.66	58.98

Does the media favor ETN or ASTE?

In the previous week, Eaton had 58 more articles in the media than Astec Industries. MarketBeat recorded 60 mentions for Eaton and 2 mentions for Astec Industries. Eaton's average media sentiment score of 1.37 beat Astec Industries' score of 0.85 indicating that Eaton is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Eaton	45 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Astec Industries	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate ETN or ASTE?

Eaton currently has a consensus target price of $377.89, indicating a potential upside of 4.34%. Astec Industries has a consensus target price of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.32%. Given Astec Industries' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Astec Industries is more favorable than Eaton.

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

Is ETN or ASTE a better dividend stock?

Eaton pays an annual dividend of $4.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Eaton pays out 42.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Astec Industries pays out 78.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ETN or ASTE?

83.0% of Eaton shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Astec Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Eaton shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Astec Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is ETN or ASTE more profitable?

Eaton has a net margin of 15.55% compared to Astec Industries' net margin of 1.15%. Eaton's return on equity of 23.41% beat Astec Industries' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eaton	15.55%	23.41%	11.31%
Astec Industries	1.15%	10.72%	6.41%

Summary

Eaton beats Astec Industries on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.