Critical Review: ZJK Industrial (NASDAQ:ZJK) and Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW)

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) and ZJK Industrial (NASDAQ:ZJK) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

79.8% of Illinois Tool Works shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Illinois Tool Works shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Illinois Tool Works and ZJK Industrial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Illinois Tool Works	5	7	2	0	1.79
ZJK Industrial	1	0	0	0	1.00

Illinois Tool Works currently has a consensus price target of $274.38, indicating a potential downside of 5.41%. Given Illinois Tool Works’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Illinois Tool Works is more favorable than ZJK Industrial.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Illinois Tool Works and ZJK Industrial”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Illinois Tool Works	$16.04 billion	5.21	$3.07 billion	$10.49	27.65
ZJK Industrial	$37.81 million	2.71	$3.68 million	N/A	N/A

Illinois Tool Works has higher revenue and earnings than ZJK Industrial.

Volatility and Risk

Illinois Tool Works has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZJK Industrial has a beta of 1.82, indicating that its share price is 82% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Illinois Tool Works and ZJK Industrial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Illinois Tool Works	19.11%	95.16%	19.22%
ZJK Industrial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Illinois Tool Works beats ZJK Industrial on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc. manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses. The Food Equipment segment provides warewashing, refrigeration, cooking, and food processing equipment; kitchen exhaust, ventilation, and pollution control systems; and food equipment maintenance and repair services. The Test & Measurement and Electronics segment produces and sells equipment, consumables, and related software for testing and measuring of materials and structures, as well as equipment and consumables used in the production of electronic subassemblies and microelectronics. The Welding segment produces arc welding equipment; and metal arc welding consumables and related accessories. The Polymers & Fluids segment produces adhesives, sealants, lubrication and cutting fluids, and fluids and polymers for auto aftermarket maintenance and appearance. The Construction Products segment offers engineered fastening systems and solutions for the residential construction, renovation/remodel, and commercial construction markets. The Specialty Products segment provides beverage packaging equipment and consumables, product coding and marking equipment and consumables, and appliance components and fasteners. It serves the automotive OEM and tiers, MRO, commercial food equipment, construction, general industrial, industrial capital goods, consumer durables, automotive aftermarket end, and other markets. The company distributes its products directly to industrial manufacturers, as well as through independent distributors. Illinois Tool Works Inc. was founded in 1912 and is based in Glenview, Illinois.

About ZJK Industrial

ZJK Industrial Co. Ltd. is a high-tech enterprise specialized in manufacturing and sale of precision fasteners, structural parts and other precision metal parts products applied in a variety of industries, including intelligent electronic equipment, new energy vehicles, aerospace, energy storage systems and liquid cooling systems used in artificial intelligence supercomputers. ZJK Industrial Co. Ltd. is based in Shenzhen, China.