Financial Contrast: RB Global (NYSE:RBA) versus Acco Brands (NYSE:ACCO)

Acco Brands (NYSE:ACCO) and RB Global (NYSE:RBA) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

84.6% of Acco Brands shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.4% of RB Global shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Acco Brands shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of RB Global shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Acco Brands and RB Global’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acco Brands	4.23%	13.48%	4.03%
RB Global	10.29%	13.97%	6.22%

Risk and Volatility

Acco Brands has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RB Global has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Acco Brands pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. RB Global pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Acco Brands pays out 42.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. RB Global pays out 56.7% 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. RB Global has increased its dividend for 20 consecutive years. Acco Brands is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Acco Brands and RB Global, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acco Brands	0	1	1	1	3.00
RB Global	0	3	5	1	2.78

Acco Brands presently has a consensus target price of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.46%. RB Global has a consensus target price of $125.33, suggesting a potential upside of 30.41%. Given RB Global’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe RB Global is more favorable than Acco Brands.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Acco Brands and RB Global”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acco Brands	$1.57 billion	0.31	$41.30 million	$0.70	7.62
RB Global	$4.59 billion	3.80	$423.10 million	$2.33	41.25

RB Global has higher revenue and earnings than Acco Brands. Acco Brands is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RB Global, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

RB Global beats Acco Brands on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acco Brands

ACCO Brands Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and office products. Its portfolio includes supplies and equipment used in workplaces, schools and homes, as well as products designed to support organization, productivity and personal technology. The company’s brands include Swingline, Kensington, Mead, Five Star, GBC, Quartet and Esselte. Its products include staplers, punches, shredders, laminators, binding systems, presentation supplies, notebooks, planners, backpacks, computer accessories and other workspace and school supplies.

About RB Global

RB Global operates a global marketplace for commercial assets and vehicles, connecting sellers with buyers through live auctions, online platforms and other sales channels. Its offerings include asset marketing and disposition services, along with support such as inspections and transaction services. The company serves businesses, governments and other organizations across industries including construction, transportation, agriculture, mining and energy. Through its IAA business, it also facilitates sales of salvage and used vehicles to buyers such as licensed dealers and vehicle rebuilders.