Crane (NYSE:CR) versus Xylem (NYSE:XYL) Financial Contrast

Xylem (NYSE:XYL) and Crane (NYSE:CR) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Xylem and Crane”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Xylem	$9.13 billion	2.73	$957.00 million	$4.20	25.36
Crane	$2.31 billion	4.98	$366.60 million	$5.72	34.69

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

Profitability

This table compares Xylem and Crane’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xylem	11.15%	11.77%	7.50%
Crane	12.97%	18.67%	10.72%

Risk and Volatility

Xylem has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Crane has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Xylem pays an annual dividend of $1.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Crane pays an annual dividend of $1.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Xylem pays out 41.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Crane pays out 17.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Xylem has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Crane has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Xylem and Crane, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xylem	0	6	9	0	2.60
Crane	0	0	4	3	3.43

Xylem currently has a consensus price target of $155.00, suggesting a potential upside of 45.49%. Crane has a consensus price target of $239.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.43%. Given Xylem’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Xylem is more favorable than Crane.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.0% of Xylem shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.1% of Crane shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Xylem shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Crane shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Crane beats Xylem on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Xylem

Xylem Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and servicing of engineered products and solutions worldwide. It operates through four segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, Measurement & Control Solutions, and Integrated Solutions and Services. The Water Infrastructure segment offers products, including water, storm water, and wastewater pumps; controls and systems; filtration, disinfection, and biological treatment equipment; and mobile dewatering equipment and rental services under the ADI, Flygt, Godwin, Sanitaire, Magneto, Neptune Benson, Ionpure, Leopold, Wedeco, and Xylem Vue brands. The Applied Water segment provides pumps, valves, heat exchangers, controls, and dispensing equipment systems under the Goulds Water Technology, Bell & Gossett, A-C Fire Pump, Standard Xchange, Lowara, Jabsco, Xylem Vue, and Flojet brands. The Measurement & Control Solutions segment offers smart meters, networked communication devices, data analytics, test equipment, controls, sensor devices, software and managed services, and critical infrastructure services; and software and services, including cloud-based analytics, remote monitoring and data management, leak detection, condition assessment, asset management, and pressure monitoring solutions, as well as testing equipment. This segment sells its products under the Pure Technologies, Sensus, Smith Blair, WTW, Xylem Vue, and YSI brands. The Integrated Solutions and Services segment provides maintenance services, mobile services, digital outsourced solutions, wastewater systems, environmental remediation, odor and corrosion control, filtration, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, and deionization under Aquapro, WaterOne, and Ion Pure brands. Xylem Inc. was formerly known as ITT WCO, Inc. and changed its name to Xylem Inc. in May 2011. Xylem Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia.

About Crane

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials. The Aerospace & Electronics segment supplies critical components and systems, including original equipment and aftermarket parts for commercial aerospace, as well as the military aerospace, defense, and space markets. This segment also offers pressure sensors for aircraft engine control, aircraft braking systems for commercial aircraft and fighter jets, power conversion solutions for spacecraft, and lubrication systems. The Process Flow Technologies segment provides engineered fluid handling equipment for mission-critical applications. It offers process valves and related products, such as lined pipe, fittings and hoses, air-operated diaphragm and peristaltic pumps, instrumentation and sampling systems, valve positioning and control systems, and valve diagnostic and calibration systems; commercial valves; and pumps and systems. The Engineered Materials segment manufactures fiberglass-reinforced plastic panels and coils for use in the manufacturing of recreational vehicles, as well as in commercial and industrial building applications. This segment sells directly to RV, trailer, and truck manufacturers, as well as through distributors and retailers. The company provides its products and solutions to end markets, including commercial and military aerospace, defense, and space; chemical and pharmaceutical production; water and wastewater; non-residential and municipal construction; energy; and other general industrial and consumer-related applications. The company was formerly known as Crane Holdings, Co. Crane Company was founded in 1855 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.