Contrasting Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund (NYSE:HYI) & CSW Industrials (NYSE:CSW)

Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund (NYSE:HYI) and CSW Industrials (NYSE:CSW) are both financial services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund and CSW Industrials”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund	$14.71 million	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
CSW Industrials	$1.08 billion	4.26	$112.04 million	$6.68	42.30

CSW Industrials has higher revenue and earnings than Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund and CSW Industrials, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund	0	0	0	0	0.00
CSW Industrials	0	5	1	3	2.78

CSW Industrials has a consensus price target of $328.57, suggesting a potential upside of 16.27%. Given CSW Industrials’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe CSW Industrials is more favorable than Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.8% of CSW Industrials shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of CSW Industrials shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund and CSW Industrials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund	N/A	N/A	N/A
CSW Industrials	10.35%	15.91%	9.05%

Dividends

Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.8%. CSW Industrials pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. CSW Industrials pays out 18.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CSW Industrials has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years.

Summary

CSW Industrials beats Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund

Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund Inc. is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC. The fund is co-managed by Western Asset Management Company, Western Asset Management Company Pte. Ltd., Western Asset Management Company Ltd and Western Asset Management Company Limited. It invests fixed income markets across the globe. The fund invests in high-yield corporate fixed income securities with varying maturities. It invests in below investment grade fixed income securities. Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund Inc. was formed on July 20, 2010 and is domiciled in the United States.

About CSW Industrials

CSW Industrials, Inc. operates as a diversified industrial company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Contractor Solutions, Engineered Building Solutions, and Specialized Reliability Solutions. The Contractor Solutions segment provides condensate pads, pans, pumps, switches, and traps; cements, diffusers, grilles, registers, solvents, thread sealants, and vents; line set covers; refrigerant caps; wire pulling head tools; electrical protection, chemical maintenance, and installation supplies for HVAC; ductless mini-split systems installation support tools and accessories; and drain waste and vent system products for use in HVAC/R, plumbing, general industrial, architecturally specified building products. The Engineered Building Solutions segment offers architectural railings and associated services; fire and smoke protection solutions; and pre-engineered and custom architectural building components for use in architecturally specified building products. The Specialized Reliability Solutions segment provides compounds, lubricants, lubricant management products, and sealants; desiccant breather filtration products; and contamination control, industrial maintenance and repair, rail friction modifiers, sealants, and operations solutions for use in energy, general industrial, mining, and rail transportation. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.