Analyzing Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) and GEA Group (OTCMKTS:GEAGF)

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) and GEA Group (OTCMKTS:GEAGF) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Astec Industries and GEA Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astec Industries	0	2	0	2	3.00
GEA Group	0	0	0	2	4.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Astec Industries and GEA Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astec Industries	$1.41 billion	0.63	$38.80 million	$0.85	45.54
GEA Group	$6.22 billion	1.85	$468.41 million	$2.42	29.12

GEA Group has higher revenue and earnings than Astec Industries. GEA Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astec Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.2% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Astec Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Astec Industries has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GEA Group has a beta of 0.2, suggesting that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Astec Industries and GEA Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astec Industries	1.26%	10.26%	5.01%
GEA Group	7.70%	18.21%	7.52%

Summary

GEA Group beats Astec Industries on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Astec Industries

Astec Industries, Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Infrastructure Solutions and Materials Solutions. The Infrastructure Solutions segment offers asphalt plants and related components, heaters, concrete dust control systems, asphalt pavers, vaporizers, concrete material handling systems, screeds, heat recovery units, paste back-fill plants, asphalt storage tanks, hot oil heaters, bagging plants, fuel storage tanks, industrial and asphalt burners and systems, custom batch plants, material transfer vehicles, soil stabilizing-reclaiming machinery, blower trucks and trailers, milling machines, soil remediation plants, wood chippers and grinders, pump trailers, concrete batch plants, control systems, liquid terminals, storage equipment and related parts, construction and retrofits, polymer plants, and concrete mixers, as well as engineering and environmental permitting services. This segment provides its products to asphalt producers; highway and heavy equipment contractors; utility contractors; sand and gravel producers; construction, demolition, recycle and crushing contractors; forestry and environmental recycling contractors; mine and quarry operators; port and inland terminal authorities; power stations; and domestic and foreign government agencies. The Materials Solutions segment designs and manufactures crushing equipment, mobile plants, bulk material handling solutions, vibrating equipment, screening equipment, electrical control centers, modular plants and systems, conveying equipment, plant automation products, portable plants, and mineral processing equipment, as well as offers consulting and engineering services. The company was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

About GEA Group

GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft engages in the development and production of systems and components to the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. It operates through Separation & Flow Technologies, Liquid & Power Technologies, Food & Health Technologies, Farm Technologies, and Heating & Refrigeration Technologies segments. The Separation & Flow Technologies segment manufacture process-related components and machinery including notably separators, decanters, homogenizers, valves, and pumps. The Liquid & Power Technologies segment offers brewing systems, liquid processing and filling, concentration, precision fermentation, crystallization, purification, drying, powder handling, and packaging, as well as systems for emission control for dairy, beverage, food, chemical, and other industries. The Food & Health Technologies segment engages in the preparation, marination, and processing of meat, poultry, seafood, and vegan products, pasta and confectionery products, baking, slicing, packaging, and frozen food processing for food processing industry; and provides tablet presses for pharmaceutical industry. The Farm Technologies segment offers customer solution for milk production and livestock farming, which includes automatic milking and feeding system, conventional milking solutions, manure handling, and digital herd management tool. The Heating & Refrigeration Technologies segment provides energy solution in the field of industrial refrigeration and heating for an array of industries including food, beverage, dairy, and oil and gas. The company was formerly known as mg technologies ag and changed its name to GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft in 2005. GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.