Financial Survey: WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) & Orion Group (NYSE:ORN)

WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) and Orion Group (NYSE:ORN) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares WillScot and Orion Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WillScot	$2.29 billion	1.39	-$52.99 million	($0.38)	-46.24
Orion Group	$852.26 million	0.44	$2.49 million	$0.09	102.49

Orion Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than WillScot. WillScot is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Orion Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for WillScot and Orion Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WillScot	1	6	3	0	2.20
Orion Group	2	0	5	0	2.43

WillScot currently has a consensus target price of $26.29, indicating a potential upside of 49.61%. Orion Group has a consensus target price of $16.00, indicating a potential upside of 73.46%. Given Orion Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Orion Group is more favorable than WillScot.

Profitability

This table compares WillScot and Orion Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WillScot	-3.00%	21.62%	3.39%
Orion Group	0.40%	3.07%	1.10%

Risk and Volatility

WillScot has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Orion Group has a beta of 1.43, indicating that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.8% of WillScot shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.3% of Orion Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of WillScot shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of Orion Group shares are owned by 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.

Summary

Orion Group beats WillScot on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WillScot

WillScot Holdings Corporation provides workspace and portable storage solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates in two segments, Modular Solutions and Storage Solutions. Its modular solutions include panelized and stackable offices, single-wide modular space units, section modulars and redi-plex, classrooms, ground level offices, blast-resistant modules, clearspan structures, and other modular space; and portable storage solutions, such as portable and cold storage containers, as well as trailers. The company leases modular space and portable storage units to customers in the construction, commercial and industrial, retail and wholesale trade, energy and natural resources, education, government and institutions, and healthcare markets. The company offers its solutions primarily under the WillScot and Mobile Mini brand names. The company was formerly known as WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. and changed its name to WillScot Holdings Corporation in July 2024. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Orion Group

Orion Group Holdings, Inc., a leading specialty construction company serving the infrastructure, industrial and building sectors, provides services both on and off the water in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and the Caribbean Basin through its marine segment and its concrete segment. The Company’s marine segment provides construction and dredging services related to marine transportation facility construction, marine pipeline construction, marine environmental structures, dredging of waterways, channels and ports, environmental dredging, design, and specialty services. Its concrete segment provides turnkey concrete construction services including place and finish, site prep, layout, forming, and rebar placement for large commercial, structural and other associated business areas. The Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas with regional offices throughout its operating areas.