Contrasting Kubota (OTCMKTS:KUBTY) and Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI)

Valmont Industries (NYSE:VMI) and Kubota (OTCMKTS:KUBTY) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Valmont Industries has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kubota has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Valmont Industries and Kubota’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Valmont Industries	11.70%	25.57%	12.44%
Kubota	8.18%	9.12%	4.27%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.8% of Valmont Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Kubota shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Valmont Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Kubota shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Valmont Industries and Kubota”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Valmont Industries	$4.10 billion	2.20	$334.78 million	$25.68	18.22
Kubota	$20.19 billion	0.98	$1.25 billion	$7.59	11.42

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

Dividends

Valmont Industries pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Kubota pays an annual dividend of $1.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Valmont Industries pays out 12.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kubota pays out 15.7% 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. Valmont Industries has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Valmont Industries and Kubota, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Valmont Industries	0	2	4	0	2.67
Kubota	0	0	0	2	4.00

Valmont Industries currently has a consensus target price of $587.00, suggesting a potential upside of 25.49%. Given Valmont Industries’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Valmont Industries is more favorable than Kubota.

Summary

Valmont Industries beats Kubota on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Valmont Industries

Valmont Industries, Inc. operates as manufacturer of products and services for infrastructure and agriculture markets in the United States, Australia, Brazil, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The company manufactures and distributes steel, pre-stressed concrete, composite structures for electrical transmission, substation, and distribution applications; and designs, engineers, and manufactures metal, steel, wood, aluminum, and composite poles and structures for lighting and transportation applications. It also offers galvanizing, anodizing, painting, and powder coating services for paint products; towers, small cell structures, camouflage concealment solutions, passive intermodulation mitigation equipment, and components for wireless communication markets; and solar single-axis tracker product, an integrated system of steel structures, electric motors, and electronic controllers, as well as provides coatings services to preserve metal products. In addition, the company manufactures center pivot components and linear irrigation equipment for the agricultural markets, such as parts and tubular products for industrial customers; advanced technology solutions for agricultural sector; mechanical irrigation equipment and service parts under the Valley brand name. It serves municipalities and government entities, commercial lighting fixtures manufacturing companies, contractors, telecommunications and utility companies, and farmers, as well as the general manufacturing sector. Valmont Industries, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

About Kubota

Kubota Corporation manufactures and sells agricultural and construction machinery in Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Farm & Machinery, Water & Environment, and Others. The Farm & Machinery segment offers tractors, power tillers, combine harvesters, rice transplanters, turf equipment, utility vehicles, other agricultural machinery, implements, attachments, post-harvest machinery, vegetable production equipment, intermediate management machine, and other equipment; cooperative drying, rice seedling, and gardening facilities; scales, weighing and measuring control systems, and air purifier; engines for farm equipment, construction machinery, industrial machinery, and generators; and mini excavators, wheel and skid steer loaders, compact track loaders, and other construction machinery related products. Its Water & Environment segment provides ductile iron pipes, synthetic pipes, valves, and single stack drain fittings, as well as design and construction services; reformer and cracking tubes, hearth rolls, TXAX materials, and spiral steel pipes; air-conditioning equipment; wastewater treatment equipment and plants, pumps and pump plants, membrane solutions, wastewater purification plants, night-soil treatment plants, waste incinerating and meltingplants, waste shredding and sorting plants, flue gas desulfurization apparatus, membrane methane fermentation plants, wastewater treatment plant, and valves. The Others segment offers logistics services; and roofing and exterior wall materials. It also engages in the underwriting of non-life insurance, retail financing, finance leasing, maintenance, security guarding, and facility management services; and import and export of components for farm equipment, engines, and construction machinery. It serves customers through a network of dealers. Kubota Corporation was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Osaka, Japan.