L.B. Foster (NASDAQ:FSTR – Get Free Report) and Westport Fuel Systems (NASDAQ:WPRT – Get Free Report) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk, valuation and profitability.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for L.B. Foster and Westport Fuel Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| L.B. Foster | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.25 |
| Westport Fuel Systems | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
L.B. Foster currently has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential downside of 14.21%. Westport Fuel Systems has a consensus price target of $1.82, suggesting a potential downside of 5.44%. Given Westport Fuel Systems’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Westport Fuel Systems is more favorable than L.B. Foster.
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| L.B. Foster | $540.01 million | 0.73 | $7.55 million | $1.05 | 35.52 |
| Westport Fuel Systems | $23.32 million | 1.44 | -$61.63 million | ($2.41) | -0.80 |
L.B. Foster has higher revenue and earnings than Westport Fuel Systems. Westport Fuel Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than L.B. Foster, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
80.6% of L.B. Foster shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.3% of Westport Fuel Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of L.B. Foster shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Westport Fuel Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares L.B. Foster and Westport Fuel Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| L.B. Foster | 2.04% | 7.61% | 4.03% |
| Westport Fuel Systems | -493.15% | -51.88% | -37.23% |
Volatility & Risk
L.B. Foster has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westport Fuel Systems has a beta of 2.14, indicating that its share price is 114% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
L.B. Foster beats Westport Fuel Systems on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About L.B. Foster
L.B. Foster Company provides engineered and manufactured products and services for the building and infrastructure projects in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Rail, Technologies, and Services; and Infrastructure Solutions. The Rail, Technologies, and Services segment offers new rail to passenger and short line freight railroads, industrial companies, and rail contractors, as well as used rails; rail accessories, such as rack spikes, bolts, angle bars, tie plates, and other products; insulated rail joints and related accessories; fixation fasteners, coverboards, and special accessories; and trackwork products. This segment also provides engineered concrete railroad ties, friction management products and application systems, railroad condition monitoring systems and equipment including wheel impact load detection systems, wayside data collection and management systems, and rockfall, flood, earthworks, and bridge strike monitoring; and aftermarket services. The Infrastructure Solutions segment manufactures precast concrete products for use as restrooms, concession stands, and protective storage buildings under the CXT brand for national, state, and municipal parks; and manufactures sounds walls, bridge beams, box culverts, septic tanks, and other custom pre-stressed and precast concrete products. This segment also provides steel bridge products; corrosion protection solutions; concrete-reinforced steel grid decking, open steel grid deck, aluminum bridge railing, and stay-in-place steel bridge forms; cuts, threads, and paints pipe; threading services for water well applications; protective pipeline coating services; and turnkey solutions for metering and injection systems for oil and gas markets. L.B. Foster Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
About Westport Fuel Systems
Westport Fuel Systems Inc. engages in the engineering, manufacturing, and supplying alternative fuel systems and components for use in transportation applications in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Original Equipment Manufacturers and Independent Aftermarket. It offers alternative fuel systems and components, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), renewable natural gas or biomethane, and hydrogen; and pressure regulators, injectors, electronic control units, valves and filters, complete bi-fuel, mono-fuel and dual-fuel LPG and natural gas conversion kits and high-pressure hydrogen components. The company provides Westport’s LNG high pressure direct injection 2.0 fuel system and bi-fuel products; offers turnkey solutions covering all process phases, including prototyping, development, calibration, validation, homologation, vehicle conversion and logistic services, as well as systems for diesel-powered vehicles; and supplies hydrogen fuel system components for light, medium, and heavy-duty applications. It offers its products under the AFS, BRC, Emer, GFI, HPDI, Stako, Prins, Zavoli, OMVL, TA Gas Technology, Vialle, and Valtek brands. The company was formerly known as Westport Innovations Inc. and changed its name to Westport Fuel Systems Inc. in June 2016. Westport Fuel Systems Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
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