TopBuild (NYSE:BLD) & American Biltrite (OTCMKTS:ABLT) Critical Analysis

TopBuild (NYSE:BLD) and American Biltrite (OTCMKTS:ABLT) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares TopBuild and American Biltrite’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TopBuild	8.95%	23.53%	8.61%
American Biltrite	-4.16%	-34.23%	-6.13%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.7% of TopBuild shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of TopBuild shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for TopBuild and American Biltrite, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TopBuild	0	9	5	1	2.47
American Biltrite	0	0	0	0	0.00

TopBuild currently has a consensus target price of $466.77, suggesting a potential upside of 9.35%. Given TopBuild’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe TopBuild is more favorable than American Biltrite.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares TopBuild and American Biltrite”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TopBuild	$5.62 billion	2.13	$521.73 million	$17.80	23.98
American Biltrite	$188.74 million	0.01	-$2.64 million	($229.80)	-0.31

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

Risk and Volatility

TopBuild has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Biltrite has a beta of -0.12, indicating that its share price is 112% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

TopBuild beats American Biltrite on 15 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About TopBuild

TopBuild Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the installation and distribution of insulation and other building material products to the construction industry. The company operates in two segments, Installation and Specialty Distribution. It provides insulation products and accessories, glass and windows, rain gutters, garage doors, fireplaces, roofing materials, closet shelving, and other products. The company also offers insulation installation services for fiberglass batts and rolls, blown-in loose fill fiberglass, polyurethane spray foam, and blown-in loose fill cellulose applications. In addition, it distributes building and mechanical insulation, insulation accessories, and other building product materials for the residential, commercial, and industrial end markets. The company serves single-family homebuilders, single-family custom builders, multi-family builders, commercial general contractors, remodelers, and individual homeowners, as well as insulation contractors, gutter contractors, weatherization contractors, other contractors, dealers, metal building erectors, and modular home builders. It operates installation branches and distribution centers in the United States and Canada. The company was formerly known as Masco SpinCo Corp. and changed its name to TopBuild Corp. in March 2015. TopBuild Corp. was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida.

About American Biltrite

American Biltrite Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides tape, jewelry, flooring, and rubber products worldwide. The company produces and offers pressure sensitive tapes, films, and protective sheeting under the American Biltrite and Ideal brands, which are used in various markets, such as automotive and transportation; construction; shoe/footwear; graphic arts, print, and signage; and various other industrial and consumer applications. It also manufactures and distributes commercial flooring primarily for healthcare, educational, and institutional sectors; and performance sheet rubber in North America, as well as designs and supplies fashion jewelry to department stores under the brands of Guess, T Tahari, Robert Rose, Berry, and Jessica McClintock. The company sells its tape products through sales organizations, distributors, and select manufacturers’ representatives. American Biltrite Inc. was founded in 1908 and is based in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts.