Critical Comparison: Burnham (OTCMKTS:BURCA) & Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG)

Burnham (OTCMKTS:BURCA) and Alta Equipment Group (NYSE:ALTG) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Burnham has a beta of 0.15, indicating that its stock price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alta Equipment Group has a beta of 1.73, indicating that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Burnham and Alta Equipment Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Burnham	-7.96%	11.89%	7.37%
Alta Equipment Group	-4.33%	-3,253.61%	-5.70%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.5% of Burnham shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.6% of Alta Equipment Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.5% of Alta Equipment Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Burnham and Alta Equipment Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Burnham	$258.11 million	0.32	-$21.45 million	($4.58)	-5.20
Alta Equipment Group	$1.84 billion	0.11	-$80.30 million	($2.53)	-2.55

Burnham has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Alta Equipment Group. Burnham is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alta Equipment Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Burnham and Alta Equipment Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Burnham	0	0	0	0	0.00
Alta Equipment Group	1	2	2	0	2.20

Alta Equipment Group has a consensus price target of $12.50, suggesting a potential upside of 93.95%. Given Alta Equipment Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Alta Equipment Group is more favorable than Burnham.

Summary

Alta Equipment Group beats Burnham on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Burnham

Burnham Holdings, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells boilers and related heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products and accessories for residential, commercial, and industrial applications in the United States and internationally. Its residential hydronic heating products include cast iron, stainless steel, and steel boilers; cast iron and steel heat distribution products; radiators; and warm air furnaces and central air conditioning systems for the residential heating and cooling markets, including units for the manufactured housing industry. The company's commercial and industrial heating products comprise a range of cast iron, stainless steel, fire tube, water tube, copper tube boilers, and water heaters; and boiler room accessories that are used for various applications, such as military bases, multi-unit residential buildings, health care, government, education, and hospital facilities. The company sells its residential products through wholesale distributors to builders, heating contractors, fuel dealers, and utilities for resale to end-use customers; and commercial products primarily through independent sales representatives, directly to contractors, or end users. Burnham Holdings, Inc. is based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

About Alta Equipment Group

Alta Equipment Group Inc. owns and operates integrated equipment dealership platforms in the United States. It operates through three segments: Material Handling, Construction Equipment, and Master Distribution. The company operates a branch network that sells, rents, and provides parts and service support for various categories of specialized equipment, including lift trucks and other material handling equipment, heavy and compact earthmoving equipment, crushing and screening equipment, environmental processing equipment, cranes and aerial work platforms, paving and asphalt equipment, and other construction equipment and related products. It also offers repair and maintenance services for its equipment. In addition, the company designs and builds warehouses; provides automated equipment installation and system integration solutions; and distributes environmental processing equipment. It serves various manufacturing, food and beverage, automotive, municipal/government, education, pharmaceutical and medical, wholesale and retail distribution, construction, agriculture, road building, mining, recycling, and waste management sectors. Alta Equipment Group Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Livonia, Michigan.