Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) versus Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina (NYSE:LOMA) Head-To-Head Survey

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina (NYSE:LOMA) and Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vulcan Materials has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and Vulcan Materials”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	$692.89 million	1.48	$18.87 million	$0.43	20.41
Vulcan Materials	$8.01 billion	4.54	$1.08 billion	$8.45	33.52

Vulcan Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina. Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vulcan Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and Vulcan Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	1	0	1	0	2.00
Vulcan Materials	1	9	12	0	2.50

Vulcan Materials has a consensus target price of $310.72, indicating a potential upside of 9.71%. Given Vulcan Materials’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Vulcan Materials is more favorable than Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina.

Profitability

This table compares Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina and Vulcan Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina	7.38%	5.61%	3.24%
Vulcan Materials	13.77%	13.03%	6.65%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

19.3% of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.4% of Vulcan Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Vulcan Materials shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Vulcan Materials beats Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina on 14 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina

Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cement and its derivatives in Argentina. The company operates through Cement, Masonry Cement and Lime; Concrete; Railroad; Aggregates; and Others segments. It offers masonry cement, aggregates, ready-mix concrete, concrete, and lime to wholesale distributors, concrete producers, industrial customers, and others for use in the construction. The company also provides rail transportation services; and treats and recycles industrial waste for use as fuel and raw material. It markets its products under the Loma Negra, San Martín, Plasticor, Cacique Plus, Cacique Max, Loma Negra Plus, and Lomax brands. The company was founded in 1926 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Loma Negra Compañía Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anónima is a subsidiary of Intercement Trading E Inversiones Argentina Sociedad Limitada.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies construction aggregates primarily in the United States. It operates through four segments: Aggregates, Asphalt, Concrete, and Calcium. The company provides crushed stones, sand and gravel, sand, and other aggregates; and related products and services that are applied in construction and maintenance of highways, streets, and other public works, as well as in the construction of housing and commercial, industrial, and other nonresidential facilities. It also offers asphalt mix and asphalt construction paving services; ready-mixed concrete; and calcium products for the animal feed, plastics, and water treatment industries. The company was formerly known as Virginia Holdco, Inc. and changed its name to Vulcan Materials Company. Vulcan Materials Company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.