Contrasting Carlisle Companies (NYSE:CSL) & IAC (NASDAQ:IAC)

IAC (NASDAQ:IAC) and Carlisle Companies (NYSE:CSL) are both multi-sector conglomerates companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, valuation and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.9% of IAC shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.5% of Carlisle Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.1% of IAC shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Carlisle Companies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares IAC and Carlisle Companies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IAC	-14.52%	-8.23%	-5.44%
Carlisle Companies	16.12%	38.16%	15.60%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for IAC and Carlisle Companies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IAC	1	2	12	0	2.73
Carlisle Companies	1	4	4	0	2.33

IAC currently has a consensus target price of $47.92, indicating a potential upside of 38.55%. Carlisle Companies has a consensus target price of $429.17, indicating a potential upside of 30.74%. Given IAC’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe IAC is more favorable than Carlisle Companies.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares IAC and Carlisle Companies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
IAC	$3.81 billion	0.68	-$539.90 million	($5.39)	-6.42
Carlisle Companies	$5.00 billion	2.80	$1.31 billion	$17.90	18.34

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

Volatility and Risk

IAC has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carlisle Companies has a beta of 1, suggesting that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Summary

Carlisle Companies beats IAC on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About IAC

IAC Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a media and internet company worldwide. The company publishes original and engaging digital content in the form of articles, illustrations, and videos and images across entertainment, food, home, beauty, travel, health, family, luxury, and fashion areas; and magazines related to women and lifestyle. It also operates a digital marketplace that connects home service professionals with consumers for repairing, remodeling, cleaning, landscaping, maintenance, and enhancement services under the Angi Ads, Angi Leads, and Angi Services brands. In addition, the company operates websites that offer general search services and information, including Ask.com, a search site with a variety of fresh and contemporary content; Reference.com that offers content across select vertical categories; Consumersearch.com, which offers content designed to simplify the product research process; and Shopping.net, a vertical shopping search site that contains a mix of search services and/or content targeted to various user or segment demographics, as well as offers direct-to-consumer downloadable desktop applications. Further, it offers Care.com, an online destination for families to connect with caregivers for their children, aging parents, pets, and homes; develops and provides subscription mobile applications across the communication, language, weather, business, health, and lifestyle verticals; a technology driven staffing platform for flexible W-2 work under the Bluecrew name; a platform to connect healthcare professionals with job opportunities under the Vivian Health name; The Daily Beast, a website dedicated to news, commentary, culture, and entertainment that publishes original reporting and opinion; and production and producer services for feature films for sale and distribution through theatrical releases and video-on-demand services. The company was formerly known as IAC/InterActiveCorp. The company is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Carlisle Companies

Carlisle Companies Incorporated operates as a manufacturer and supplier of building envelope products and solutions in the United States, Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Carlisle Construction Materials and Carlisle Weatherproofing Technologies. The company produces single-ply roofing products, and warranted roof systems and accessories, including ethylene propylene diene monomer, thermoplastic polyolefin and polyvinyl chloride membrane, polyiso insulation, and engineered metal roofing and wall panel systems for commercial and residential buildings. It also offers building envelope solutions, including high-performance waterproofing and moisture protection products, protective roofing underlayments, fully integrated liquid and sheet applied air/vapor barriers, sealants/primers and flashing systems, roof coatings and mastics, spray polyurethane foam and coating systems, block-molded expanded polystyrene insulation, and engineered products for HVAC applications. It sells its products under the Carlisle SynTec, Versico, WeatherBond, Hunter Panels, Resitrix, and Hertalan brands. Carlisle Companies Incorporated was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.