ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) & Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) Head to Head Comparison

Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) and ESAB (NYSE:ESAB) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.6% of Greenbrier Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.1% of ESAB shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Greenbrier Companies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.2% of ESAB shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Greenbrier Companies and ESAB’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Greenbrier Companies	3.21%	4.85%	1.90%
ESAB	5.75%	14.48%	5.99%

Risk and Volatility

Greenbrier Companies has a beta of 1.53, suggesting that its share price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ESAB has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Greenbrier Companies pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. ESAB pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Greenbrier Companies pays out 54.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ESAB pays out 19.4% 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. Greenbrier Companies has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and ESAB has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Greenbrier Companies and ESAB, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Greenbrier Companies	3	2	0	0	1.40
ESAB	0	1	7	0	2.88

Greenbrier Companies presently has a consensus price target of $40.33, suggesting a potential downside of 2.85%. ESAB has a consensus price target of $118.14, suggesting a potential upside of 42.14%. Given ESAB’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ESAB is more favorable than Greenbrier Companies.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Greenbrier Companies and ESAB”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Greenbrier Companies	$2.46 billion	0.52	$79.00 million	$2.48	16.74
ESAB	$2.84 billion	1.82	$226.77 million	$2.47	33.65

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

Summary

ESAB beats Greenbrier Companies on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Greenbrier Companies

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets railroad freight car equipment in North America, Europe, and South America. It operates through three segments: Manufacturing; Maintenance Services; and Leasing & Management Services. The Manufacturing segment offers covered hopper cars, gondolas, open top hoppers, boxcars, center partition cars, tank cars, sustainable conversions, double-stack railcars, auto-max ii, multi-max, and multi-max plus products, intermodal cars, automobile transport, coil steel and metals, flat cars, sliding wall cars, pressurized tank cars, and non-pressurized tank cars. The Maintenance Services segment provides wheel services, including reconditioning of wheels and axles, new axle machining and finishing, and downsizing; operates a railcar repair, refurbishment, and maintenance network; and reconditions and manufactures railcar cushioning units, couplers, yokes, side frames, bolsters, and various other parts. The Leasing & Management Services segment offers operating leases and per diem leases for a fleet of approximately 13,400 railcars; and management services comprising railcar maintenance management, railcar accounting services, fleet management and logistics, administration, and railcar re-marketing. This segment provides management services for railroads, shippers, carriers, institutional investors, and other leasing and transportation companies. It serves railroads, leasing companies, financial institutions, shippers, carriers, and transportation companies. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

About ESAB

ESAB Corporation engages in the formulation, development, manufacture, and supply of consumable products and equipment for use in cutting, joining, automated welding, and gas control equipment. Its comprehensive range of welding consumables includes electrodes, cored and solid wires, and fluxes using a range of specialty and other materials; and cutting consumables comprising electrodes, nozzles, shields, and tips. The company's equipment ranges from portable welding machines to large customized automated cutting and welding systems. It also offers a range of software and digital solutions to help its customers increase their productivity, remotely monitor their welding operations, and digitize their documentation. The company sells its products under the ESAB brand to various end markets, such as general industry, infrastructure, renewable energy, medical and life sciences, transportation, construction, and energy. It offers its products through independent distributors and direct salespeople. The company operates in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. ESAB Corporation was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland.