Reviewing Builders FirstSource (NYSE:BLDR) & NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX)

NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) and Builders FirstSource (NYSE:BLDR) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for NWPX Infrastructure and Builders FirstSource, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NWPX Infrastructure	0	2	2	1	2.80
Builders FirstSource	3	13	9	0	2.24

NWPX Infrastructure currently has a consensus target price of $110.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.57%. Builders FirstSource has a consensus target price of $84.50, indicating a potential upside of 59.72%. Given Builders FirstSource’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Builders FirstSource is more favorable than NWPX Infrastructure.

Profitability

This table compares NWPX Infrastructure and Builders FirstSource’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%
Builders FirstSource	0.71%	11.73%	4.32%

Volatility & Risk

NWPX Infrastructure has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Builders FirstSource has a beta of 1.45, indicating that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.6% of NWPX Infrastructure shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.5% of Builders FirstSource shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of NWPX Infrastructure shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Builders FirstSource shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NWPX Infrastructure and Builders FirstSource”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NWPX Infrastructure	$574.44 million	1.70	$35.41 million	$4.99	20.30
Builders FirstSource	$14.45 billion	0.39	$435.20 million	$0.91	58.14

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

Summary

NWPX Infrastructure beats Builders FirstSource on 8 of the 15 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 Builders FirstSource

Builders FirstSource, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and supplies building materials, manufactured components, and construction services to professional homebuilders, sub-contractors, remodelers, and consumers in the United States. It offers lumber and lumber sheet goods comprising dimensional lumber, plywood, and oriented strand board products that are used in on-site house framing; manufactured products, such as wood floor and roof trusses, floor trusses, wall panels, stairs, and engineered wood products; and windows, and interior and exterior door units, as well as interior trims and custom products comprising intricate mouldings, stair parts, and columns under the Synboard brand name. The company also provides specialty building products and services, including vinyl, composite and wood siding, exterior trims, metal studs, cement, roofing, insulation, wallboards, ceilings, cabinets, and hardware products; turn-key framing, shell construction, design assistance, and professional installation services. In addition, it offers software products, such as drafting, estimating, quoting, and virtual home design services, which provide software solutions to retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and homebuilders. The company was formerly known as BSL Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Builders FirstSource, Inc. in October 1999. Builders FirstSource, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Irving, Texas.