Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN) & Watsco (NYSE:WSO.B) Head-To-Head Comparison

Watsco (NYSE:WSO.B) and Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Watsco and Hudson Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Watsco	$7.28 billion	1.75	$496.99 million	$11.53	26.80
Hudson Technologies	$256.92 million	0.88	$16.67 million	$0.20	26.80

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

Volatility & Risk

Watsco has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hudson Technologies has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Watsco and Hudson Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Watsco	0	0	0	0	0.00
Hudson Technologies	1	3	2	0	2.17

Hudson Technologies has a consensus target price of $8.62, suggesting a potential upside of 60.91%. Given Hudson Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hudson Technologies is more favorable than Watsco.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Watsco shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.3% of Hudson Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.8% of Watsco shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Hudson Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Watsco and Hudson Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Watsco	6.53%	14.40%	10.17%
Hudson Technologies	3.51%	4.95%	3.81%

Summary

Watsco beats Hudson Technologies on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Watsco

Watsco, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, distributes air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment; and related parts and supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. It offers residential ducted and ductless air conditioners; gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment. The company also provides parts comprising replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors, and other component parts; and supplies, such as thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tapes, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies. It serves contractors and dealers that service the replacement and new construction markets for residential and light commercial central air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration systems. In addition, the company exports its products to Latin America and the Caribbean Basin. Watsco, Inc. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

About Hudson Technologies

Hudson Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiary, Hudson Technologies Company, engages in the provision of solutions to recurring problems within the refrigeration industry in the United States. The company engages in the sale of refrigerant and industrial gas; provision of refrigerant management services consisting primarily of reclamation of refrigerants, re-usable cylinder refurbishment, and hydrostatic testing services; and RefrigerantSide services comprising system decontamination and recovery to remove moisture, oils, and other contaminants. It also offers Chiller Chemistry, which integrates several fluid tests of an operating system and the corresponding laboratory results into an engineering report; Fluid Chemistry, an abbreviated version of Chiller Chemistry, which is designed to quickly identify systems that require further examination; SmartEnergy OPS, a web-based real time continuous monitoring system, for measuring, modifying and improving the efficiency of energy systems, including air conditioning and refrigeration systems, in industrial and commercial applications; and ChillSmart, which combines the system optimization with Chiller Chemistry for providing a snapshot of a packaged chiller's operating efficiency and health. In addition, the company participates in the generation of carbon offset projects. It serves commercial, industrial, and governmental customers, as well as refrigerant wholesalers, distributors, contractors, and refrigeration equipment manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.