Critical Review: QXO (NYSE:QXO) versus Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY)

Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY) and QXO (NYSE:QXO) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ashtead Group and QXO”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ashtead Group	$10.79 billion	2.47	$1.51 billion	$13.22	19.26
QXO	$6.84 billion	1.65	-$279.40 million	($0.90)	-12.07

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.8% of Ashtead Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.7% of QXO shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.0% of QXO shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Ashtead Group and QXO’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ashtead Group	12.83%	20.18%	6.98%
QXO	-5.17%	2.41%	1.20%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Ashtead Group and QXO, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ashtead Group	0	1	2	0	2.67
QXO	1	1	15	1	2.89

QXO has a consensus target price of $25.14, suggesting a potential upside of 131.54%. Given QXO’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe QXO is more favorable than Ashtead Group.

Summary

Ashtead Group beats QXO on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ashtead Group

Ashtead Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction, industrial, and general equipment rental business in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It provides pumps, power generation, heating, cooling, scaffolding, traffic management, temporary flooring, trench shoring, and lifting services. The company offers its products and services for facilities maintenance and municipalities, such as office complexes, apartment complexes, government, hospitals, data centers, parks and recreation departments, schools and universities, shopping centers, pavement/kerb repairs, and golf course maintenance; construction of airports, highways and bridges, office buildings, data centers, schools and universities, shopping centers, residential, remodeling, manufacturing plants, and green energy plants; emergency response for fire, hurricanes, flooding, tornadoes, winter, storms, residential and health emergencies, alternative care facilities, points of distribution, and mobile testing facilities; and entertainment and special events, including national events, concerts, sporting events, film and telvision production, theme parks, festivals farmers' markets, local 5k runs, and cycle races. It operates 1,094 stores in the United States, 119 stores in Canada, and 185 stores in the United Kingdom under the Sunbelt Rentals brand. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About QXO

QXO, Inc. operates as a business application, technology, and consulting company in North America. The company provides solutions for accounting and business management, financial reporting, enterprise resource planning, human capital management, warehouse management systems, customer relationship management, and business intelligence. It also offers value-added services that focuses on consulting and professional, specialized programming, training, and technical support services. In addition, the company provides information technology managed services, such as cybersecurity, application hosting, disaster recovery, business continuity, cloud, and other services; and data back-up, network maintenance, and upgrade services. It serves small and medium-sized businesses primarily in the manufacturing, distribution, and service industries. QXO, Inc. is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.