Analyzing Titan International (NYSE:TWI) & Luxfer (NYSE:LXFR)

Titan International (NYSE:TWI) and Luxfer (NYSE:LXFR) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.4% of Titan International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.8% of Luxfer shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Titan International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Luxfer shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Titan International has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Luxfer has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Titan International and Luxfer, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Titan International	1	0	1	0	2.00
Luxfer	0	2	0	1	2.67

Titan International presently has a consensus target price of $13.00, indicating a potential upside of 89.67%. Given Titan International’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Titan International is more favorable than Luxfer.

Profitability

This table compares Titan International and Luxfer’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Titan International	-4.11%	-1.56%	-0.48%
Luxfer	2.20%	12.22%	7.23%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Titan International and Luxfer”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Titan International	$1.83 billion	0.24	-$63.49 million	($1.21)	-5.66
Luxfer	$384.60 million	1.21	$7.70 million	$0.30	57.42

Luxfer has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Titan International. Titan International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Luxfer, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Luxfer beats Titan International on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Titan International

Titan International, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells wheels, tires, and undercarriage systems and components for off-highway vehicles in the United States and internationally. The company operates in Agricultural, Earthmoving/Construction, and Consumer segments. It offers wheels, tires, and undercarriage systems and components for various agricultural equipment, including tractors, combines, skidders, plows, planters, and irrigation equipment. The company also offers wheels, tires, and undercarriage systems and components for off-the-road earthmoving, mining, military, construction, and forestry equipment, including skid steers, aerial lifts, cranes, graders and levelers, scrapers, self-propelled shovel loaders, articulated dump trucks, load transporters, haul trucks, backhoe loaders, crawler tractors, lattice cranes, shovels, and hydraulic excavators. In addition, it provides bias and light truck tires; and products for ATVs, rock climbers, and turf applications, as well as specialty products and train brakes. It sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers, as well as to the aftermarket through independent distributors, equipment dealers, and its distribution centers. Titan International, Inc. was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in West Chicago, Illinois.

About Luxfer

Luxfer Holdings PLC, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies high-performance materials, components, and high-pressure gas containment devices for defense and first response, healthcare, transportation, and general industrial applications. The company operates through three segments: Elektron, Gas Cylinders, and graphic Arts. The Elektron segment focuses on specialty materials based primarily on magnesium and zirconium. This segment also provides magnesium alloys for use in aerospace, healthcare, and oil and gas applications; magnesium powders for use in countermeasure flares, as well as heater meals; and zirconium-based materials and oxides used as catalysts and in the manufacture of advanced ceramics, fiber-optic fuel cells, pharmaceuticals, and other performance products. The Gas Cylinders segment manufactures and markets specialized products using carbon composites and aluminum alloys, including pressurized cylinders for use in various applications comprising self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for firefighters, containment of oxygen, and other medical gases for healthcare, alternative fuel vehicles, and general industrial applications. The Graphic Art segments provides magnesium photo-engraving plates, engraving metals, and etching chemicals. This segment also offers magnesium, copper, and zinc photo-engraving plates for graphic arts and luxury packaging; developer solutions; and solid wrought magnesium slab and sheet. Luxfer Holdings PLC has operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Canada, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.