Analyzing Anhui Conch Cement (OTCMKTS:AHCHY) and Knife River (NYSE:KNF)

Anhui Conch Cement (OTCMKTS:AHCHY) and Knife River (NYSE:KNF) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.1% of Knife River shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Knife River shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Anhui Conch Cement and Knife River, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Anhui Conch Cement	0	0	0	0	0.00
Knife River	0	4	5	1	2.70

Knife River has a consensus target price of $86.86, indicating a potential upside of 35.23%. Given Knife River’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Knife River is more favorable than Anhui Conch Cement.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Anhui Conch Cement and Knife River”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Anhui Conch Cement	$11.48 billion	1.04	$1.18 billion	$1.08	10.45
Knife River	$3.15 billion	1.16	$157.07 million	$2.45	26.22

Anhui Conch Cement has higher revenue and earnings than Knife River. Anhui Conch Cement is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Knife River, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Anhui Conch Cement has a beta of 0.21, meaning that its share price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Knife River has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Anhui Conch Cement and Knife River’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Anhui Conch Cement	8.02%	3.11%	2.49%
Knife River	4.23%	8.73%	3.65%

Summary

Knife River beats Anhui Conch Cement on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Anhui Conch Cement

Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, sells, and trades in clinker and cement products. The company operates through five segments: Eastern China, Central China, Southern China, Western China, and Overseas. It provides construction and installation services for industrial purposes; logistic services; and mining and related services. The company manufactures and sells cement packaging products, concrete products, and refractory materials; and develops and sells profile and related products, as well as exports clinker and cement products. In addition, it engages in investment and trading, and selling aggregates. Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited was founded in 1997 and is based in Wuhu, the People's Republic of China.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides aggregates- led construction materials and contracting services in the United States. It operates through Pacific, Northwest, Mountain, Central, and Energy Services segments. The company mines, processes, and sells construction aggregates, including crushed stone and sand, and gravel; and produces and sells asphalt and ready-mix concrete. It also provides contracting service, such as heavy-civil construction, asphalt and concrete paving, and site development and grading. In addition, the company sells cement, merchandise, and other building materials and related services. The company sells its construction materials to public and private-sector customers, including federal, state, and municipal governments, as well as industrial, commercial and residential developers, and other private parties; and provides its contracting services to public-sector customers for the development and servicing of highways, local roads, bridges, and other public-infrastructure projects. Knife River Corporation was founded in 1917 and is based in Bismarck, North Dakota.