Head-To-Head Contrast: Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) versus Mayville Engineering (NYSE:MEC)

Mayville Engineering (NYSE:MEC) and Proto Labs (NYSE:PRLB) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Mayville Engineering and Proto Labs”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mayville Engineering	$546.49 million	0.80	-$8.11 million	($0.84)	-20.38
Proto Labs	$533.13 million	3.92	$21.24 million	$1.25	69.98

Proto Labs has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Mayville Engineering. Mayville Engineering is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Proto Labs, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Mayville Engineering has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Proto Labs has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

45.4% of Mayville Engineering shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.5% of Proto Labs shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of Mayville Engineering shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Proto Labs shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Mayville Engineering and Proto Labs’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mayville Engineering	-2.95%	-6.63%	-2.99%
Proto Labs	5.44%	4.80%	4.22%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Mayville Engineering and Proto Labs, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mayville Engineering	1	1	4	0	2.50
Proto Labs	0	0	3	1	3.25

Mayville Engineering presently has a consensus target price of $35.75, suggesting a potential upside of 108.82%. Proto Labs has a consensus target price of $89.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.75%. Given Mayville Engineering’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Mayville Engineering is more favorable than Proto Labs.

Summary

Proto Labs beats Mayville Engineering on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mayville Engineering

Mayville Engineering Company, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, design, prototyping and tooling, fabrication, aluminum extrusion, coating, and assembling of aftermarket components in the United States. It also supplies engineered components to original equipment manufacturers. The company serves heavy and medium duty commercial vehicles, construction and access equipment, powersports, agriculture, military, and other end markets. Mayville Engineering Company, Inc. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Proto Labs

Proto Labs, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. The company offers injection molding; computer numerical control machining; three-dimensional printing; and sheet metal fabrication products. It serves developers and engineers, who use 3D computer-aided design software to design products across a range of end-markets. Proto Labs, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Maple Plain, Minnesota.