Northwest Pipe (NWPX) Competitors

Northwest Pipe (NASDAQ:NWPX) and Argan (NYSE:AGX) are both small-cap industrial products companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and community ranking.

Does the media refer more to NWPX or AGX?

In the previous week, Argan had 3 more articles in the media than Northwest Pipe. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Argan and 4 mentions for Northwest Pipe. Northwest Pipe's average media sentiment score of 1.34 beat Argan's score of 1.02 indicating that Northwest Pipe is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Northwest Pipe	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Argan	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is NWPX or AGX more profitable?

Argan has a net margin of 8.20% compared to Northwest Pipe's net margin of 6.12%. Argan's return on equity of 21.66% beat Northwest Pipe's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northwest Pipe	6.12%	8.47%	4.79%
Argan	8.20%	21.66%	9.73%

Which has more volatility and risk, NWPX or AGX?

Northwest Pipe has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Argan has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of NWPX or AGX?

80.6% of Northwest Pipe shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.4% of Argan shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Northwest Pipe shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of Argan shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, NWPX or AGX?

Argan has higher revenue and earnings than Northwest Pipe. Northwest Pipe is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Argan, 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
Northwest Pipe	$444.36M	1.07	$21.07M	$2.94	16.26
Argan	$573.33M	3.17	$32.36M	$4.78	27.99

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer NWPX or AGX?

Argan received 33 more outperform votes than Northwest Pipe when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 69.00% of users gave Argan an outperform vote while only 57.29% of users gave Northwest Pipe an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Northwest Pipe	Outperform Votes 283 57.29%	Underperform Votes 211 42.71%
Argan	Outperform Votes 316 69.00%	Underperform Votes 142 31.00%

Do analysts rate NWPX or AGX?

Northwest Pipe presently has a consensus target price of $47.50, indicating a potential downside of 0.65%. Argan has a consensus target price of $150.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.12%. Given Argan's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Argan is more favorable than Northwest Pipe.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northwest Pipe	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Argan	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Summary

Argan beats Northwest Pipe on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.