Financial Comparison: NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) vs. Hayward (NYSE:HAYW)

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) and NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Hayward and NWPX Infrastructure’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hayward	13.83%	11.61%	5.91%
NWPX Infrastructure	8.49%	12.22%	7.93%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.6% of NWPX Infrastructure shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.7% of Hayward shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of NWPX Infrastructure shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Hayward and NWPX Infrastructure, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hayward	0	6	2	0	2.25
NWPX Infrastructure	0	2	2	1	2.80

Hayward presently has a consensus price target of $17.50, indicating a potential upside of 15.40%. NWPX Infrastructure has a consensus price target of $110.00, indicating a potential downside of 5.30%. Given Hayward’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Hayward is more favorable than NWPX Infrastructure.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hayward and NWPX Infrastructure”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hayward	$1.12 billion	2.87	$151.57 million	$0.74	20.49
NWPX Infrastructure	$526.00 million	2.13	$35.41 million	$4.99	23.28

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

Risk & Volatility

Hayward has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NWPX Infrastructure has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

NWPX Infrastructure beats Hayward on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of pool equipment and associated automation systems in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers pool equipment, including pumps, filters, robotics, suction and pressure cleaners, gas heaters and heat pumps, water features and landscape lighting, water sanitizers, salt chlorine generators, safety equipment, and in-floor automated cleaning systems, as well as LED illumination solutions. It sells its products through specialty distributors, retailers, and buying groups. The company was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About NWPX Infrastructure

Northwest Pipe Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and supply of water-related infrastructure products in North America. It operates in two segments, Engineered Steel Pressure Pipe (SPP) and Precast Infrastructure and Engineered Systems (Precast). The SPP segment offers large-diameter and high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, which are primarily related to drinking water systems. Its products are also used for hydroelectric power systems, wastewater systems, seismic resiliency, and other applications. In addition, this segment makes products for industrial plant piping systems and certain structural applications. The Precast segment provides stormwater and wastewater technology products, precast, and reinforced concrete products, including reinforced concrete pipe, manholes, box culverts, vaults and catch basins, pump lift stations, oil water separators, biofiltration units, steel casing pipes, and bar-wrapped concrete cylinder pipes, as well as pipeline system joints, fittings, specialized components, and other environmental and engineered solutions. The company sells its water infrastructure products under ParkUSA, Geneva Pipe and Precast, Permalok, and Northwest Pipe Company brands primarily to installation contractors. Northwest Pipe Company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.