GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) vs. Virco Manufacturing (NASDAQ:VIRC) Financial Review

Virco Manufacturing (NASDAQ:VIRC) and GFL Environmental (NYSE:GFL) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Virco Manufacturing and GFL Environmental’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Virco Manufacturing	-1.31%	-2.32%	-1.39%
GFL Environmental	-3.28%	4.14%	1.55%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

31.0% of Virco Manufacturing shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.7% of GFL Environmental shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.9% of Virco Manufacturing shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of GFL Environmental shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Virco Manufacturing and GFL Environmental, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Virco Manufacturing	1	1	0	0	1.50
GFL Environmental	2	3	9	0	2.50

GFL Environmental has a consensus price target of $57.44, suggesting a potential upside of 30.82%. Given GFL Environmental’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe GFL Environmental is more favorable than Virco Manufacturing.

Dividends

Virco Manufacturing pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. GFL Environmental pays an annual dividend of $0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Virco Manufacturing pays out -62.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. GFL Environmental pays out -13.2% 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. Virco Manufacturing has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and GFL Environmental has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Virco Manufacturing is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Virco Manufacturing and GFL Environmental”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Virco Manufacturing	$191.97 million	0.53	$2.57 million	($0.16)	-40.28
GFL Environmental	$4.73 billion	3.35	$2.74 billion	($0.53)	-82.85

GFL Environmental has higher revenue and earnings than Virco Manufacturing. GFL Environmental is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Virco Manufacturing, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Virco Manufacturing has a beta of 0.14, suggesting that its stock price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GFL Environmental has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

GFL Environmental beats Virco Manufacturing on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Virco Manufacturing

Virco Mfg. Corporation engages in the design, production, and distribution of furniture in the United States and Canada. The company offers seating products, including 4-leg chairs, cantilever chairs, mobile task chairs and lab stools, tablet armchairs, steel-frame and floor rockers, series stools, hard plastic seating, folding and upholstered stack chairs, and plastic stack and upholstered ergonomic chairs. It also provides activity, butcher block, folding, office, technology, and mobile tables; desks and workstations, and instructor media stations and towers; chair desks and combo units, tablet arm and caster units, mobile workstations, student desks, and returns and credenzas; and computer furniture solutions. In addition, the company provides administrative office furniture, including desks, returns, bookcases, and other items, as well as steel storage cabinets, wardrobe tower cabinets, file credenzas, and mobile pedestals; laboratory furniture comprising steel-based science tables, table bases, lab stools, and wood-frame science tables; mobile furniture, such as mobile tables, mobile cabinets, and mobile chairs for school settings and offices; and handling and storage equipment, and stackable storage trucks. It serves public and private educational institutions, charter schools, convention centers and arenas, hospitality providers, government facilities, and places of worship through its sales and support teams, and dealers' network. Virco Mfg. Corporation was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Torrance, California.

About GFL Environmental

GFL Environmental Inc. offers non-hazardous solid waste management and environmental services in Canada and the United States. It offers solid waste management, liquid waste management, and soil remediation services, including collection, transportation, transfer, recycling, and disposal services for municipal, residential, and commercial, and industrial customers. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Vaughan, Canada.