Mueller Industries (MLI) and The Competition Financial Comparison

Mueller Industries (NYSE:MLI) is one of 436 publicly-traded companies in the “Machinery” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Mueller Industries to similar businesses based on the strength of its risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Mueller Industries and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mueller Industries	0	0	3	0	3.00
Mueller Industries Competitors	4215	14733	18263	809	2.41

Mueller Industries currently has a consensus price target of $75.50, suggesting a potential upside of 37.54%. As a group, “Machinery” companies have a potential upside of 30.79%. Given Mueller Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Mueller Industries is more favorable than its peers.

Risk & Volatility

Mueller Industries has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mueller Industries’ peers have a beta of 5.11, indicating that their average share price is 411% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Mueller Industries and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mueller Industries	17.26%	25.23%	21.32%
Mueller Industries Competitors	-1,035.50%	-36.21%	-0.24%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.5% of Mueller Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.8% of shares of all “Machinery” companies are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of Mueller Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.1% of shares of all “Machinery” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Mueller Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Mueller Industries pays out 17.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Machinery” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.8% and pay out 24.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Mueller Industries has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Mueller Industries and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mueller Industries	$4.18 billion	$765.19 million	14.08
Mueller Industries Competitors	$4.62 billion	$362.62 million	6.30

Mueller Industries’ peers have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Mueller Industries. Mueller Industries is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Mueller Industries beats its peers on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

About Mueller Industries

Mueller Industries, Inc. manufactures and markets products used in plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, and industrial applications. Its products include copper tube and fittings, valves, line sets, brass rod and forgings, and plastic plumbing products. The company serves customers across a range of markets, including construction, HVAC and refrigeration, automotive, and industrial manufacturing. Its operations and sales reach North America and international markets, including Europe and Asia.