IDEX (IEX) Competitors

IDEX (NYSE:IEX) and Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, valuation, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Does the media prefer IEX or NDSN?

In the previous week, Nordson had 4 more articles in the media than IDEX. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Nordson and 7 mentions for IDEX. Nordson's average media sentiment score of 1.37 beat IDEX's score of 0.85 indicating that Nordson is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
IDEX	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Nordson	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend IEX or NDSN?

IDEX currently has a consensus price target of $212.50, suggesting a potential upside of 16.42%. Nordson has a consensus price target of $252.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.77%. Given IDEX's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe IDEX is more favorable than Nordson.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IDEX	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Nordson	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, IEX or NDSN?

IDEX has higher revenue and earnings than Nordson. Nordson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than IDEX, 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
IDEX	$3.27B	4.22	$505M	$6.31	28.93
Nordson	$2.69B	4.65	$467.28M	$7.78	28.47

Is IEX or NDSN a better dividend stock?

IDEX pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Nordson pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. IDEX pays out 45.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nordson pays out 40.1% 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. IDEX has raised its dividend for 16 consecutive years and Nordson has raised its dividend for 62 consecutive years.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in IEX or NDSN?

98.0% of IDEX shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.1% of Nordson shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of IDEX shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Nordson shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is IEX or NDSN more profitable?

Nordson has a net margin of 16.51% compared to IDEX's net margin of 14.60%. Nordson's return on equity of 19.10% beat IDEX's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IDEX	14.60%	15.51%	8.91%
Nordson	16.51%	19.10%	9.60%

Which has more risk & volatility, IEX or NDSN?

IDEX has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nordson has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Nordson beats IDEX on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.