Head to Head Survey: Alfa Laval (OTCMKTS:ALFVY) vs. Energy Services of America (NASDAQ:ESOA)

Alfa Laval (OTCMKTS:ALFVY) and Energy Services of America (NASDAQ:ESOA) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Dividends

Alfa Laval pays an annual dividend of $0.61 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Energy Services of America pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Alfa Laval pays out 29.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Energy Services of America pays out 87.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Alfa Laval and Energy Services of America”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alfa Laval	$7.12 billion	3.19	$845.40 million	$2.09	26.27
Energy Services of America	$467.37 million	N/A	N/A	$0.18	49.62

Alfa Laval has higher revenue and earnings than Energy Services of America. Alfa Laval is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Energy Services of America, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Alfa Laval and Energy Services of America, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alfa Laval	2	2	4	0	2.25
Energy Services of America	0	2	2	0	2.50

Energy Services of America has a consensus target price of $22.50, suggesting a potential upside of 147.80%. Given Energy Services of America’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Energy Services of America is more favorable than Alfa Laval.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Alfa Laval shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.1% of Energy Services of America shares are held by institutional investors. 44.7% of Energy Services of America shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Alfa Laval and Energy Services of America’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alfa Laval	11.34%	17.88%	8.02%
Energy Services of America	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Alfa Laval beats Energy Services of America on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alfa Laval

Alfa Laval is a Swedish industrial company that develops equipment and solutions for heat transfer, separation and fluid handling. Its products include heat exchangers, separators, pumps, valves and systems used to process and move liquids and gases. The company serves customers in industries including energy, food and water, and marine. Its equipment and services support applications such as food and beverage production, wastewater treatment, energy efficiency and ship operations. Founded in 1883, Alfa Laval traces its roots to inventor Gustaf de Laval’s cream-separation technology.

About Energy Services of America

Energy Services of America Corporation is a specialty contracting company serving natural gas, petroleum, water and wastewater, and electric utility markets. The company installs, repairs, and replaces pipelines and utility systems for commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers. Its work includes pipeline construction and maintenance, water and sewer line installation, electrical services, and related site work. The company also performs services such as horizontal directional drilling, trenching, welding, and pipeline testing.