Reviewing Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ:OMEX) and Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)

Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ:OMEX) and Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Odyssey Marine Exploration and Commercial Metals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Odyssey Marine Exploration	$184,074.00	182.70	-$43.08 million	($0.85)	-0.67
Commercial Metals	$9.39 billion	0.75	$655.85 million	$5.87	10.94

Commercial Metals has higher revenue and earnings than Odyssey Marine Exploration. Odyssey Marine Exploration is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Commercial Metals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

50.0% of Odyssey Marine Exploration shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.9% of Commercial Metals shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.2% of Odyssey Marine Exploration shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Commercial Metals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Odyssey Marine Exploration and Commercial Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Odyssey Marine Exploration	-21,320.00%	N/A	-262.11%
Commercial Metals	6.98%	17.00%	7.85%

Risk & Volatility

Odyssey Marine Exploration has a beta of 0.06, suggesting that its stock price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Commercial Metals has a beta of 1.53, suggesting that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Odyssey Marine Exploration and Commercial Metals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Odyssey Marine Exploration	1	0	0	0	1.00
Commercial Metals	1	4	10	0	2.60

Commercial Metals has a consensus price target of $78.73, indicating a potential upside of 22.54%. Given Commercial Metals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Commercial Metals is more favorable than Odyssey Marine Exploration.

Summary

Commercial Metals beats Odyssey Marine Exploration on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Odyssey Marine Exploration

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, discovers, validates, and develops seafloor mineral resources worldwide. The company provides specialized mineral exploration, project development, and marine services to clients. Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

About Commercial Metals

Commercial Metals Company manufactures, recycles, and fabricates steel and metal products, and related materials and services in the United States, Poland, China, and internationally. It operates through two segments, North America and Europe. The company processes and sells ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals to steel mills and foundries, aluminum sheet and ingot manufacturers, brass and bronze ingot makers, copper refineries and mills, secondary lead smelters, specialty steel mills, high temperature alloy manufacturers, and other consumers. It also manufactures and sells finished long steel products, including reinforcing bar, merchant bar, light structural, and other special sections, as well as semi-finished billets for rerolling and forging applications. In addition, the company provides fabricated rebar used to reinforce concrete primarily in the construction of commercial and non-commercial buildings, hospitals, convention centers, industrial plants, power plants, highways, bridges, arenas, stadiums, and dams; sells and rents construction-related products and equipment to concrete installers and other businesses; and manufactures and sells strength bars for the truck trailer industry, special bar steels for the energy market, and armor plates for military vehicles. Further, it manufactures rebars, merchant bars, and wire rods; and sells fabricated rebars, wire meshes, fabricated meshes, assembled rebar cages, and other fabricated rebar by-products to fabricators, manufacturers, distributors, and construction companies. The company was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.