Astec Industries (ASTE) Competitors

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) and Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) are both small-cap industrial products companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk, community ranking, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Is ASTE or CMCO a better dividend stock?

Astec Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Columbus McKinnon pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Astec Industries pays out -650.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Columbus McKinnon pays out 52.8% 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. Astec Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media favor ASTE or CMCO?

In the previous week, Columbus McKinnon had 5 more articles in the media than Astec Industries. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Columbus McKinnon and 4 mentions for Astec Industries. Columbus McKinnon's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat Astec Industries' score of 0.87 indicating that Columbus McKinnon 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)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Columbus McKinnon	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

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

93.2% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of Columbus McKinnon shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Astec Industries shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Columbus McKinnon 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.

Is ASTE or CMCO more profitable?

Columbus McKinnon has a net margin of 1.51% compared to Astec Industries' net margin of -0.15%. Columbus McKinnon's return on equity of 9.20% beat Astec Industries' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astec Industries	-0.15%	7.69%	4.54%
Columbus McKinnon	1.51%	9.20%	4.50%

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, ASTE or CMCO?

Columbus McKinnon has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Astec Industries. Astec Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Columbus McKinnon, 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	$1.28B	0.65	$33.50M	-$0.08	-459.00
Columbus McKinnon	$1.01B	1.05	$46.62M	$0.53	70.08

Do analysts prefer ASTE or CMCO?

Astec Industries currently has a consensus price target of $38.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.85%. Columbus McKinnon has a consensus price target of $51.50, indicating a potential upside of 38.66%. Given Columbus McKinnon's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Columbus McKinnon is more favorable than Astec Industries.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astec Industries	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Columbus McKinnon	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ASTE or CMCO?

Astec Industries received 117 more outperform votes than Columbus McKinnon when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 64.17% of users gave Astec Industries an outperform vote while only 61.37% of users gave Columbus McKinnon an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Astec Industries	Outperform Votes 403 64.17%	Underperform Votes 225 35.83%
Columbus McKinnon	Outperform Votes 286 61.37%	Underperform Votes 180 38.63%

Which has more volatility and risk, ASTE or CMCO?

Astec Industries has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Columbus McKinnon has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Columbus McKinnon beats Astec Industries on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.