Comparing Core & Main (CNM) and Its Rivals

Core & Main (NYSE:CNM) is one of 158 publicly-traded companies in the “Trading Companies & Distributors” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Core & Main to similar businesses based on the strength of its valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Core & Main and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Core & Main	0	6	7	0	2.54
Core & Main Competitors	1420	4866	6658	220	2.43

Core & Main currently has a consensus target price of $56.70, indicating a potential upside of 32.01%. As a group, “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies have a potential upside of 11.18%. Given Core & Main’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Core & Main is more favorable than its competitors.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Core & Main and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Core & Main	$7.65 billion	$441.00 million	18.20
Core & Main Competitors	$6.76 billion	$365.60 million	20.97

Core & Main has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Core & Main is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Core & Main has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Core & Main’s competitors have a beta of 1.28, suggesting that their average stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.2% of Core & Main shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.9% of shares of all “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Core & Main shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.9% of shares of all “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Core & Main and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Core & Main	5.87%	26.17%	8.58%
Core & Main Competitors	0.71%	-34.50%	3.15%

Summary

Core & Main beats its competitors on 9 of the 13 factors compared.

About Core & Main

Core & Main, Inc. is a specialty distributor focused on water, wastewater, storm drainage and fire protection products, and related services. The company provides infrastructure solutions to municipalities, private water companies and professional contractors across municipal, non-residential, and residential end markets, nationwide. The company was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in St. Louis, MO.