Enpro (NYSE:NPO) vs. Perma-Pipe International (NASDAQ:PPIH) Critical Survey

Perma-Pipe International (NASDAQ:PPIH) and Enpro (NYSE:NPO) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Perma-Pipe International and Enpro, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Perma-Pipe International	0	1	0	0	2.00
Enpro	0	1	3	1	3.00

Perma-Pipe International presently has a consensus price target of $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.85%. Enpro has a consensus price target of $358.33, indicating a potential upside of 20.18%. Given Perma-Pipe International’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Perma-Pipe International is more favorable than Enpro.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

28.4% of Perma-Pipe International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.3% of Enpro shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Perma-Pipe International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Enpro shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Perma-Pipe International has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Enpro has a beta of 1.55, indicating that its share price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Perma-Pipe International and Enpro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Perma-Pipe International	6.47%	15.92%	6.57%
Enpro	3.60%	11.83%	7.10%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Perma-Pipe International and Enpro”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Perma-Pipe International	$210.93 million	1.09	$17.03 million	$1.69	16.79
Enpro	$1.14 billion	5.52	$40.50 million	$2.05	145.44

Enpro has higher revenue and earnings than Perma-Pipe International. Perma-Pipe International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Enpro, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Enpro beats Perma-Pipe International on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Perma-Pipe International

Perma-Pipe International Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engineers, designs, manufactures, and sells specialty piping and leak detection systems. It offers insulated and jacketed district heating and cooling piping systems for energy distribution from central energy plants to various locations; and primary and secondary containment piping systems for transporting chemicals, hazardous fluids, and petroleum products, as well as engages in the coating and insulation of oil and gas gathering and transmission pipelines. The company also offers liquid and powder based anti-corrosion coatings for external and internal surfaces of steel pipe, including shapes like bends, reducers, tees, and other spools/fittings that is used in pipelines for the transportation of oil and gas products and potable water. It has operations in the United States, Canada, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, India, and internationally. The company was formerly known as MFRI, Inc. and changed its name to Perma-Pipe International Holdings, Inc. in March 2017. Perma-Pipe International Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Spring, Texas.

About Enpro

Enpro Inc. design, develops, manufactures, and markets proprietary, value-added products and solutions to safeguard critical environments in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Sealing Technologies and Advanced Surface Technologies. The Sealing Technologies segment offers single-use hygienic seals, tubing, components and assemblies; metallic, non-metallic, and composite material gaskets; dynamic seals; compression packing; hydraulic components; expansion joints; and wall penetration products for chemical and petrochemical processing, pulp and paper processing, nuclear energy, hydrogen, natural gas, food and biopharmaceutical processing, primary metal manufacturing, mining, water and waste treatment, commercial vehicle, aerospace, medical, filtration, and semiconductor fabrication industries. The Advanced Surface Technologies segment offers cleaning, coating, testing, refurbishment, and verification services for critical components and assemblies used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, as well as for critical applications in the space, aerospace, and defense markets; and specialized optical filters and thin-film coatings for various applications in the industrial technology, life sciences, and semiconductor markets. The company was formerly known as EnPro Industries, Inc. and changed its name to Enpro Inc. in December 2023. Enpro Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.