Kennedy-Wilson (NYSE:KW) & WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) Financial Contrast

WillScot (NASDAQ:WSC) and Kennedy-Wilson (NYSE:KW) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for WillScot and Kennedy-Wilson, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WillScot	1	5	3	0	2.22
Kennedy-Wilson	2	1	0	0	1.33

WillScot currently has a consensus target price of $26.88, indicating a potential upside of 24.31%. Kennedy-Wilson has a consensus target price of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.96%. Given WillScot’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe WillScot is more favorable than Kennedy-Wilson.

Volatility and Risk

WillScot has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kennedy-Wilson has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WillScot and Kennedy-Wilson”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WillScot	$2.40 billion	1.64	$28.13 million	$1.21	17.87
Kennedy-Wilson	$531.40 million	2.57	-$33.00 million	($0.26)	-38.10

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

Profitability

This table compares WillScot and Kennedy-Wilson’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WillScot	9.64%	23.09%	3.93%
Kennedy-Wilson	1.59%	19.00%	2.22%

Dividends

WillScot pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Kennedy-Wilson pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. WillScot pays out 23.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kennedy-Wilson pays out -184.6% 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. Kennedy-Wilson is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.8% of WillScot shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.7% of Kennedy-Wilson shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of WillScot shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.3% of Kennedy-Wilson shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

WillScot beats Kennedy-Wilson on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WillScot

WillScot Holdings Corporation provides workspace and portable storage solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates in two segments, Modular Solutions and Storage Solutions. Its modular solutions include panelized and stackable offices, single-wide modular space units, section modulars and redi-plex, classrooms, ground level offices, blast-resistant modules, clearspan structures, and other modular space; and portable storage solutions, such as portable and cold storage containers, as well as trailers. The company leases modular space and portable storage units to customers in the construction, commercial and industrial, retail and wholesale trade, energy and natural resources, education, government and institutions, and healthcare markets. The company offers its solutions primarily under the WillScot and Mobile Mini brand names. The company was formerly known as WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. and changed its name to WillScot Holdings Corporation in July 2024. WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp. is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Kennedy-Wilson

Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment company. The company owns, operates, and invests in real estate both on its own and through its investment management platform. It focuses on multifamily and office properties located in the Western United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Japan. The company had ownership interests in multifamily units, office space, retail and industrial space, and a hotel. It is involved in the development, redevelopment, and entitlement of real estate properties. Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.