Reviewing NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) & Hayward (NYSE:HAYW)

NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) and Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

NWPX Infrastructure has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hayward has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.6% of NWPX Infrastructure shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of NWPX Infrastructure shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Hayward shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for NWPX Infrastructure and Hayward, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NWPX Infrastructure	0	2	2	1	2.80
Hayward	0	6	2	0	2.25

NWPX Infrastructure currently has a consensus target price of $110.00, suggesting a potential downside of 5.30%. Hayward has a consensus target price of $17.50, suggesting a potential upside of 15.40%. Given Hayward’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Hayward is more favorable than NWPX Infrastructure.

Profitability

This table compares NWPX Infrastructure and Hayward’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NWPX Infrastructure	8.49%	12.22%	7.93%
Hayward	13.83%	11.61%	5.91%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares NWPX Infrastructure and Hayward”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NWPX Infrastructure	$526.00 million	2.13	$35.41 million	$4.99	23.28
Hayward	$1.12 billion	2.87	$151.57 million	$0.74	20.49

Hayward has higher revenue and earnings than NWPX Infrastructure. Hayward is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NWPX Infrastructure, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

NWPX Infrastructure beats Hayward on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NWPX Infrastructure

Northwest Pipe Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and supply of water-related infrastructure products in North America. It operates in two segments, Engineered Steel Pressure Pipe (SPP) and Precast Infrastructure and Engineered Systems (Precast). The SPP segment offers large-diameter and high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, which are primarily related to drinking water systems. Its products are also used for hydroelectric power systems, wastewater systems, seismic resiliency, and other applications. In addition, this segment makes products for industrial plant piping systems and certain structural applications. The Precast segment provides stormwater and wastewater technology products, precast, and reinforced concrete products, including reinforced concrete pipe, manholes, box culverts, vaults and catch basins, pump lift stations, oil water separators, biofiltration units, steel casing pipes, and bar-wrapped concrete cylinder pipes, as well as pipeline system joints, fittings, specialized components, and other environmental and engineered solutions. The company sells its water infrastructure products under ParkUSA, Geneva Pipe and Precast, Permalok, and Northwest Pipe Company brands primarily to installation contractors. Northwest Pipe Company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of pool equipment and associated automation systems in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers pool equipment, including pumps, filters, robotics, suction and pressure cleaners, gas heaters and heat pumps, water features and landscape lighting, water sanitizers, salt chlorine generators, safety equipment, and in-floor automated cleaning systems, as well as LED illumination solutions. It sells its products through specialty distributors, retailers, and buying groups. The company was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.