Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT) vs. Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) Head-To-Head Survey

Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT) and Gorman-Rupp (NYSE:GRC) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Ascent Industries and Gorman-Rupp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ascent Industries	1	0	0	0	1.00
Gorman-Rupp	0	2	1	0	2.33

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.0% of Ascent Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.3% of Gorman-Rupp shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.5% of Ascent Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.6% of Gorman-Rupp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Ascent Industries has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gorman-Rupp has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ascent Industries and Gorman-Rupp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ascent Industries	1.54%	-4.37%	-3.31%
Gorman-Rupp	8.45%	15.08%	7.18%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ascent Industries and Gorman-Rupp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ascent Industries	$76.52 million	1.64	$870,000.00	$0.13	106.92
Gorman-Rupp	$695.03 million	3.39	$53.02 million	$2.23	40.06

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

Summary

Gorman-Rupp beats Ascent Industries on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ascent Industries

Ascent Industries Co. an industrials company, produces and distributes stainless steel pipe and tube and specialty chemicals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Tubular Products and Specialty Chemicals. It manufactures welded pipes and tubes, primarily from stainless steel, duplex, and nickel alloys; and ornamental stainless steel tubes for automotive, commercial transportation, marine, food services, construction, furniture, healthcare, and other industries. The company also produces defoamers, surfactants, and lubricating agents for end users, including companies that supply agrochemical paper, metal working, coatings, water treatment, paint, mining, oil and gas, and janitorial and other applications. In addition, it provides contract manufacturing services, as well as operates as a multi-purpose plant to process various difficult to handle materials, including flammable solvents, viscous liquids, and granular solids. The company was formerly known as Synalloy Corporation and changed its name to Ascent Industries Co. in August 2022. Ascent Industries Co. was founded in 1945 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

About Gorman-Rupp

The Gorman-Rupp Company designs, manufactures, and sells pumps and pump systems in the United States and internationally. The company’s products include self-priming centrifugal, standard centrifugal, magnetic drive centrifugal, axial and mixed flow, vertical turbine line shaft, submersible, high-pressure booster, rotary gear, diaphragm, bellows, and oscillating pumps. Its products are used in water, wastewater, construction, dewatering, industrial, petroleum, original equipment, agriculture, fire suppression, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, military, and other liquid-handling applications. The company markets its products through a network of distributors, manufacturers’ representatives, third-party distributor catalogs, direct sales, and e-commerce. The Gorman-Rupp Company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Mansfield, Ohio.