Reviewing Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) & Hayward (NYSE:HAYW)

Hayward (NYSE:HAYW) and Simpson Manufacturing (NYSE:SSD) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Hayward and Simpson Manufacturing, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hayward	0	7	2	0	2.22
Simpson Manufacturing	1	2	3	0	2.33

Hayward presently has a consensus target price of $17.50, suggesting a potential upside of 38.64%. Simpson Manufacturing has a consensus target price of $216.25, suggesting a potential upside of 21.97%. Given Hayward’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Hayward is more favorable than Simpson Manufacturing.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Hayward and Simpson Manufacturing”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hayward	$1.12 billion	2.39	$151.57 million	$0.74	17.06
Simpson Manufacturing	$2.33 billion	3.13	$345.08 million	$9.15	19.38

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

Profitability

This table compares Hayward and Simpson Manufacturing’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hayward	13.83%	11.61%	5.91%
Simpson Manufacturing	15.65%	18.45%	12.32%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.7% of Simpson Manufacturing shares are held by institutional investors. 4.7% of Hayward shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Simpson Manufacturing shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Hayward has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Simpson Manufacturing has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Simpson Manufacturing beats Hayward on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hayward

Hayward Holdings, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of pool equipment and associated automation systems in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers pool equipment, including pumps, filters, robotics, suction and pressure cleaners, gas heaters and heat pumps, water features and landscape lighting, water sanitizers, salt chlorine generators, safety equipment, and in-floor automated cleaning systems, as well as LED illumination solutions. It sells its products through specialty distributors, retailers, and buying groups. The company was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About Simpson Manufacturing

Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells structural solutions for wood, concrete, and steel connections. The company offers wood construction products, including connectors, truss plates, fastening systems, fasteners and shearwalls, and pre-fabricated lateral systems for use in light-frame construction; and concrete construction products comprising adhesives, specialty chemicals, mechanical anchors, carbide drill bits, powder actuated tools, fiber-reinforced materials, and other repair products for use in concrete, masonry, and steel construction, as well as grouts, coatings, sealers, mortars, fiberglass and fiber-reinforced polymer systems, and asphalt products for use in concrete construction repair, and strengthening and protection products. It also provides connectors and lateral products for wood framing, timber and offsite construction, structural steel construction, and cold-formed steel applications; and mechanical and adhesive anchors for concrete and masonry construction applications. In addition, the company offers engineering and design services, as well as software solutions that facilitate the specification, selection, and use of its products. It markets its products to the residential construction, light industrial and commercial construction, infrastructure construction, remodeling, and do-it-yourself markets in the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Romania, Sweden, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The company was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.