Financial Comparison: Lindsay (NYSE:LNN) and Dover (NYSE:DOV)

Lindsay (NYSE:LNN) and Dover (NYSE:DOV) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Lindsay pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Dover pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Lindsay pays out 28.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Dover pays out 24.5% 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. Lindsay has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years and Dover has raised its dividend for 70 consecutive years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lindsay and Dover”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lindsay	$635.86 million	1.70	$55.65 million	$5.32	20.01
Dover	$8.09 billion	3.33	$1.09 billion	$8.58	23.59

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

Volatility and Risk

Lindsay has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dover has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Lindsay and Dover, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lindsay	0	3	0	0	2.00
Dover	0	5	11	0	2.69

Lindsay presently has a consensus target price of $119.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.80%. Dover has a consensus target price of $238.60, indicating a potential upside of 17.87%. Given Dover’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Dover is more favorable than Lindsay.

Profitability

This table compares Lindsay and Dover’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lindsay	8.75%	10.96%	6.74%
Dover	13.60%	18.68%	10.40%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.9% of Lindsay shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.5% of Dover shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Lindsay shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Dover shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Dover beats Lindsay on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lindsay

Lindsay Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides water management and road infrastructure products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Irrigation and Infrastructure. The Irrigation segment manufactures and markets center pivot, lateral move irrigation systems, and irrigation controls under the Zimmatic brand; hose reel travelers under the Perrot brand; and chemical injection systems, variable rate irrigation systems, flow meters, weather stations, soil moisture sensors, and remote monitoring and control systems. It also offers repair and replacement parts for its irrigation systems and controls, and diameter steel tubing; global positioning system positioning and guidance, variable rate irrigation, wireless irrigation management, irrigation scheduling, and smartphone applications; and industrial Internet of Things technology solutions, data acquisition and management systems, and custom electronic equipment for applications under the Elecsys brand. The Infrastructure segment provides Road Zipper System comprised of T-shaped concrete and steel barriers, barrier transfer machine, and variable length barriers which are used for highway reconstruction, paving and resurfacing, road widening, median and shoulder construction, and repairs to tunnels and bridges. Additionally, it offers redirective and non-redirective crash cushions to enhance highway safety at locations such as toll booths, freeway off-ramps, medians and roadside barrier ends, bridge supports, utility poles, and other fixed roadway hazards; specialty barriers; preformed tape and road safety accessory products, as well as rail products, such as signals and lights, structures, foundations, junction boxes, and signs. Lindsay Corporation was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

About Dover

Dover Corporation provides equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services worldwide. The company's Engineered Products segment provides various equipment, component, software, solution, and services that are used in vehicle aftermarket, waste handling, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, industrial winch and hoist, and fluid dispensing end-market. This segment offers manual and power clamp, rotary and linear mechanical indexer, conveyor, pick and place unit, glove port, and manipulator, as well as end-of-arm robotic gripper, slide, and end effector; winches, hoists, bearings, drives, and electric monitoring system; and radio frequency and microwave filters and switches, and signal intelligence solutions. Its Clean Energy & Fueling segment offers component, equipment, and software and service solution enabling safe storage and transport of fuel, cryogenic gases, and hazardous fluids, as well as operation of retail fueling and vehicle wash establishment. The company's Imaging & Identification segment provides precision marking and coding, product traceability equipment, brand protection, and digital textile printing equipment and solution, as well as related consumable, software, and service to packaged and consumer goods, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, fashion and apparel, and other end-market. Its Pumps & Process Solutions segment manufactures specialty pump, connector, flow meter, fluid connecting solution, plastics and polymer processing equipment, and engineered components for rotating and reciprocating machines. The company's Climate & Sustainability Technologies segment manufactures refrigeration system, refrigeration display case, commercial glass refrigerator and freezer door, and brazed plate heat exchanger for industrial heating and cooling, and residential climate control applications. The company was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois.