IES (NASDAQ:IESC) and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) Head to Head Survey

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) and IES (NASDAQ:IESC) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and IES”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	$888.28 million	1.28	$73.47 million	$1.07	15.89
IES	$3.37 billion	3.52	$303.06 million	$11.26	26.42

IES has higher revenue and earnings than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than IES, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

89.1% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.6% of IES shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 56.4% of IES shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and IES’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	8.27%	16.46%	6.48%
IES	11.40%	35.70%	19.68%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and IES, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	1	4	1	0	2.00
IES	0	1	2	0	2.67

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock presently has a consensus price target of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. IES has a consensus price target of $334.50, suggesting a potential upside of 12.43%. Given IES’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe IES is more favorable than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock.

Volatility and Risk

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, IES has a beta of 1.77, meaning that its stock price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

IES beats Great Lakes Dredge & Dock on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. engages in the provision of dredging services. Its projects include channel and port maintenance, channel deepening and port expansion, coastal protection and restoration, as well as land reclamation. The company was founded by William A. Lydon and Frederick C. Drews in 1890 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

About IES

IES Holdings, Inc. engages in the design and installation of integrated electrical and technology systems, and provides infrastructure products and services in the United States. The Communications segment designs, installs, and maintains network infrastructure within data centers for co-location and managed hosting customers; corporate, educational, financial, hospitality, and healthcare buildings; e-commerce distribution centers; and high-tech manufacturing facilities. This segment also provides design and installation services for audio/visual, telephone, fire, and wireless access and intrusion alarm systems; and engages in designing/building, servicing, and maintaining data network systems. The Residential segment offers electrical installations to single-family housing and multi-family apartments; and cable television installations to residential and light commercial applications, as well as installs residential solar power for new construction and existing residences. The Infrastructure Solutions segment maintains and repairs alternating and direct current electric motors and generators, and power generating and distribution equipment; manufactures custom-engineered metal enclosed bus duct solutions used in power distribution; manufactures custom commercial and industrial generator enclosures; manufactures, re-manufactures, and repairs industrial lifting magnets; and maintains and repairs railroad main and auxiliary generators, main alternators, and traction motors. The Commercial & Industrial segment offers electrical and mechanical design, construction, and maintenance services for office buildings, manufacturing facilities, data centers, chemical plants, refineries, wind farms, solar facilities, municipal infrastructures, and health care facilities. The company was formerly known as Integrated Electrical Services, Inc. and changed its name to IES Holdings, Inc. in May 2016. IES Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.