Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) versus Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) Critical Analysis

Flowserve (NYSE:FLS) and Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Flowserve and Trimble, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Flowserve	0	3	10	1	2.86
Trimble	0	2	7	2	3.00

Flowserve currently has a consensus target price of $78.60, indicating a potential upside of 6.87%. Trimble has a consensus target price of $96.67, indicating a potential upside of 19.92%. Given Trimble’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Trimble is more favorable than Flowserve.

Profitability

This table compares Flowserve and Trimble’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Flowserve	9.66%	19.41%	7.58%
Trimble	9.93%	10.73%	6.65%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.9% of Flowserve shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Trimble shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Flowserve shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Trimble shares are owned by 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Flowserve and Trimble”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Flowserve	$4.69 billion	1.99	$282.76 million	$3.44	21.38
Trimble	$3.68 billion	5.21	$1.50 billion	$1.46	55.21

Trimble has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Flowserve. Flowserve is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Trimble, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Flowserve has a beta of 1.29, meaning that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trimble has a beta of 1.59, meaning that its share price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Trimble beats Flowserve on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Flowserve

Flowserve Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes, and services industrial flow management equipment in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through Flowserve Pump Division (FPD) and Flow Control Division (FCD) segments. The FPD segment offers custom and pre-configured pumps and pump systems, mechanical seals, auxiliary systems, replacement parts, upgrades, and related aftermarket services; and equipment services, including installation and commissioning services, seal systems spare parts, repairs, advanced diagnostics, re-rate and upgrade solutions, retrofit programs, and machining and asset management solutions, as well as manufactures a gas-lubricated mechanical seal for use in high-speed compressors for gas pipelines and in the oil and gas production and process markets. The FCD segment provides engineered and industrial valve and automation systems, including isolation and control valves, actuation, controls, and related equipment; and equipment maintenance services for flow control systems, including advanced diagnostics, repair, installation, commissioning, retrofit programs, and field machining capabilities. This segment's products are used to control, direct, and manage the flow of liquids, gases, and multi-phase fluids. It primarily serves oil and gas, chemical and pharmaceuticals, power generation, and water management markets, as well as general industries, including mining and ore processing, pulp and paper, food and beverage, and other smaller applications. The company distributes its products through direct sales, distributors, and sales representatives. Flowserve Corporation was founded in 1790 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

About Trimble

Trimble Inc. provides technology solutions that enable professionals and field mobile workers to enhance or transform their work processes worldwide. The company's Buildings and Infrastructure segment offers field and office software for project design and visualization; systems to guide and control construction equipment; software for 3D design and data sharing; systems to monitor, track, and manage assets, equipment, and workers; software to share and communicate data; program management solutions for construction owners; 3D conceptual design and modeling software; building information modeling software; enterprise resource planning, project management, and project collaboration solutions; integrated site layout and measurement systems; cost estimating, scheduling, and project controls solutions; and applications for sub-contractors and trades. Its Geospatial segment provides surveying and geospatial products, and geographic information systems. The company's Resources and Utilities segment offers precision agriculture products and services, such as guidance and positioning systems, including autonomous steering systems, automated and variable-rate application and technology systems, and information management solutions; manual and automated navigation guidance for tractors and other farm equipment; solutions to automate application of pesticide and seeding; water solutions; and agricultural software. Its Transportation segment offers solutions for long haul trucking and freight shipper markets; mobility solutions comprising route management, safety and compliance, end-to-end vehicle management, video intelligence, and supply chain communications; and fleet and transportation management systems, analytics, routing, mapping, reporting, and predictive modeling solutions. The company was formerly known as Trimble Navigation Limited and changed its name to Trimble Inc. in October 2016. Trimble Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado.