Comparing Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) and CVD Equipment (NASDAQ:CVV)

CVD Equipment (NASDAQ:CVV) and Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares CVD Equipment and Illinois Tool Works”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CVD Equipment	$28.25 million	1.03	-$1.90 million	($0.02)	-209.00
Illinois Tool Works	$15.90 billion	4.64	$3.49 billion	$10.31	24.68

Illinois Tool Works has higher revenue and earnings than CVD Equipment. CVD Equipment is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Illinois Tool Works, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares CVD Equipment and Illinois Tool Works’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CVD Equipment	-0.66%	-0.72%	-0.60%
Illinois Tool Works	19.05%	93.26%	19.30%

Volatility and Risk

CVD Equipment has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Illinois Tool Works has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for CVD Equipment and Illinois Tool Works, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CVD Equipment	1	0	0	0	1.00
Illinois Tool Works	5	7	2	0	1.79

Illinois Tool Works has a consensus price target of $261.08, indicating a potential upside of 2.61%. Given Illinois Tool Works’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Illinois Tool Works is more favorable than CVD Equipment.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

31.6% of CVD Equipment shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.8% of Illinois Tool Works shares are owned by institutional investors. 28.7% of CVD Equipment shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Illinois Tool Works shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Illinois Tool Works beats CVD Equipment on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CVD Equipment

CVD Equipment Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells equipment to develop and manufacture materials and coatings in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: CVD Equipment, Stainless Design Concepts, and CVD Materials. The CVD Equipment segment offers chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor transport, and thermal process equipment under the FirstNano brand for various markets, such as high power electronics, aerospace advanced materials for gas turbine jet engines, and nanomaterials used in batteries, as well as semiconductors, LEDs, carbon nanotubes, nanowires, solar cells, and other industrial and research applications. The Stainless Design Concepts segment provides ultra-high purity gas and chemical delivery control systems, including gas cylinder storage cabinets, custom gas and chemical delivery systems, gas and liquid valve manifold boxes, and gas isolation boxes for semiconductor fabrication processes, aerospace, solar cells, LEDs, carbon nanotubes, nanowires, and industrial applications. The CVD Materials segment offers products related to advanced materials and coatings, such as MesoPlasma printing services and products comprising heaters, antennas, and sensors to aerospace, satellite, power generation, defense, and other markets. The company also provides annealing, diffusion, and low pressure chemical vapor deposition furnaces; and standard and custom fabricated quartz-ware used in its equipment and other customer tools. The company was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Central Islip, New York.

About Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Inc. manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses. The Food Equipment segment provides warewashing, refrigeration, cooking, and food processing equipment; kitchen exhaust, ventilation, and pollution control systems; and food equipment maintenance and repair services. The Test & Measurement and Electronics segment produces and sells equipment, consumables, and related software for testing and measuring of materials and structures, as well as equipment and consumables used in the production of electronic subassemblies and microelectronics. The Welding segment produces arc welding equipment; and metal arc welding consumables and related accessories. The Polymers & Fluids segment produces adhesives, sealants, lubrication and cutting fluids, and fluids and polymers for auto aftermarket maintenance and appearance. The Construction Products segment offers engineered fastening systems and solutions for the residential construction, renovation/remodel, and commercial construction markets. The Specialty Products segment provides beverage packaging equipment and consumables, product coding and marking equipment and consumables, and appliance components and fasteners. It serves the automotive OEM and tiers, MRO, commercial food equipment, construction, general industrial, industrial capital goods, consumer durables, automotive aftermarket end, and other markets. The company distributes its products directly to industrial manufacturers, as well as through independent distributors. Illinois Tool Works Inc. was founded in 1912 and is based in Glenview, Illinois.