Critical Analysis: Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) versus Keyence (OTCMKTS:KYCCF)

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) and Keyence (OTCMKTS:KYCCF) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ingersoll Rand and Keyence”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ingersoll Rand	$7.65 billion	3.58	$581.40 million	$1.48	47.28
Keyence	$7.06 billion	16.76	$2.66 billion	N/A	N/A

Keyence has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ingersoll Rand.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.3% of Ingersoll Rand shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ingersoll Rand shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Ingersoll Rand and Keyence’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ingersoll Rand	7.54%	12.79%	7.16%
Keyence	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

Ingersoll Rand has a beta of 1.25, meaning that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Keyence has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ingersoll Rand and Keyence, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ingersoll Rand	0	5	4	0	2.44
Keyence	0	1	0	0	2.00

Ingersoll Rand currently has a consensus price target of $93.38, suggesting a potential upside of 33.44%. Given Ingersoll Rand’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ingersoll Rand is more favorable than Keyence.

Summary

Ingersoll Rand beats Keyence on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand Inc. provides various mission-critical air, gas, liquid, and solid flow creation technologies services and solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services, and Precision and Science Technologies. The Industrial Technologies and Services segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services air and gas compression, vacuum, and blower products; fluid transfer equipment and loading systems; and power tools and lifting equipment, including associated aftermarket parts, consumables, air treatment equipment, controls, other accessories, and services under the under the Ingersoll Rand, Gardner Denver, Nash, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle brands, etc. The Precision and Science Technologies segment designs, manufactures, and markets diaphragm, piston, water-powered, peristaltic, gear, vane, progressive cavity, and syringe pumps; and gas boosters, hydrogen compression systems, automated liquid handling systems, odorant injection systems, controls, software, and other related components and accessories for liquid and gas dosing, transfer, dispensing, compression, sampling, pressure management, and flow control in specialized or critical applications under the Air Dimensions, Albin, ARO, Dosatron, Haskel, Ingersoll Rand, LMI, Maximus, Milton Roy, MP, Oberdorfer, Seepex, Thomas, Welch, Williams, YZ, and Zinnser Analytic brand names. This segment's products are used in medical, life sciences, industrial manufacturing, water and wastewater, chemical processing, energy, food and beverage, agriculture, and other markets. It sells through an integrated network of direct sales representatives and independent distributors. The company was formerly known as Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Ingersoll Rand Inc. in March 2020. Ingersoll Rand Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina.

About Keyence

Keyence Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of factory automation solutions in Japan, China, the United States, and internationally. The company offers photoelectric, fiber optic, laser, positioning, vision, specific solution, and inductive proximity sensors, as well as network communication units. It also provides measurement sensors, such as laser displacement and profiler, optical/laser micrometer, inductive displacement sensor, 3D interference measurement, spectral interference displacement, and contact displacement/LVDT sensors; and measurement systems, including optical comparators, 3D scanners, multisensor measurement, and CMM/laser trackers. In addition, the company provides safety products comprising safety laser scanners, light curtains, interlock switches, and controllers; and pressure, flow, level, and temperature sensors for monitoring equipment processes. Further, it offers static eliminators/ionizers and electrostatic sensors, which protect workers, machinery, and products from the damaging effects of electrostatic charge; vision systems and sensors; and programmable logic controllers, servo motor and system, and other controls that are used for machine control applications. Additionally, the company provides barcode and handheld scanners; laser marking systems/laser markers, UV laser coder, and industrial continuous inkjet printers; digital, 3D surface profilers, elemental analyzers, optical profilometers, and fluorescence microscopes; data loggers; and mobile/ handheld computers. It serves customers in automotive, semiconductors/LCDs, electronic devices, food/pharmaceutical, medical technology, logistics, metals, plastics, and films/sheets industries. Keyence Corporation was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Osaka, Japan.