Contrasting Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) and Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Miller Industries (NYSE:MLR) and Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Miller Industries has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nordson has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Miller Industries and Nordson’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Miller Industries	1.86%	3.41%	2.40%
Nordson	18.63%	20.49%	10.88%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Miller Industries and Nordson”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Miller Industries	$790.27 million	0.78	$23.01 million	$1.24	43.84
Nordson	$2.79 billion	6.13	$484.47 million	$9.89	31.09

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Miller Industries and Nordson, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Miller Industries	0	2	1	0	2.33
Nordson	0	3	5	0	2.62

Miller Industries currently has a consensus price target of $54.00, suggesting a potential downside of 0.67%. Nordson has a consensus price target of $326.57, suggesting a potential upside of 6.22%. Given Nordson’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Nordson is more favorable than Miller Industries.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

79.2% of Miller Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.1% of Nordson shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Miller Industries shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Nordson shares are held by 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.

Dividends

Miller Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Nordson pays an annual dividend of $3.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Miller Industries pays out 67.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nordson pays out 33.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Miller Industries has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Nordson has increased its dividend for 62 consecutive years.

Summary

Nordson beats Miller Industries on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Miller Industries

Miller Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells towing and recovery equipment. The company offers wreckers that are used to recover and tow disabled vehicles and other equipment; and car carriers, which are specialized flat-bed vehicles with hydraulic tilt mechanisms, which are used to transport new or disabled vehicles and other equipment. It also provides transport trailers for moving various vehicles for auto auctions, car dealerships, leasing companies, and other similar operations. The company markets its products under the Century, Vulcan, Challenger, Holmes, Champion, Chevron, Eagle, Titan, Jige, and Boniface brands. Miller Industries, Inc. sells its products through independent distributors in North America, and Canada, Mexico; and through prime contractors to governmental entities. Miller Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Ooltewah, Tennessee.

About Nordson

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions. The Industrial Precision Solutions segment provides dispensing, coating, and laminating systems for adhesives, lotions, liquids, and fibers to disposable products and roll goods; automated adhesive dispensing systems used in packaged goods industries; components and systems used in the thermoplastic and biopolymer melt stream; precision agriculture spraying solutions; fluid components, such as nozzles, pumps, and filters; and product assembly systems for use in paper and paperboard converting applications, and manufacturing roll goods. It also offers automated and manual dispensing products and systems for cold materials, container coating, liquid finishing, and powder coating, as well as ultraviolet equipment used primarily in curing and drying operations. The Medical and Fluid Solutions segment offers medical devices, including cannulas, catheters, and medical balloons; single-use plastic components; precision manual and semi-automated dispensers; minimally invasive interventional delivery devices; and plastic molded syringes, cartridges, tips, and fluid connection components. The Advanced Technology Solutions segment provides automated dispensing systems for the attachment, protection, and coating of fluids, as well as related gas plasma treatment systems for cleaning and conditioning surfaces; and bond testing and automated optical, acoustic microscopy, and x-ray inspection systems for use in semiconductor and printed circuit board industries. The company markets its products through direct sales force, as well as distributors and sales representatives. Nordson Corporation was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Westlake, Ohio.