Head to Head Analysis: Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) vs. LeGrand (OTCMKTS:LGRDY)

LeGrand (OTCMKTS:LGRDY) and Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.2% of Preformed Line Products shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.0% of Preformed Line Products shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

LeGrand has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Preformed Line Products has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for LeGrand and Preformed Line Products, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LeGrand	0	4	5	1	2.70
Preformed Line Products	0	0	1	1	3.50

Preformed Line Products has a consensus price target of $275.00, suggesting a potential downside of 25.61%. Given Preformed Line Products’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Preformed Line Products is more favorable than LeGrand.

Dividends

LeGrand pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Preformed Line Products pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. LeGrand pays out 29.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Preformed Line Products pays out 9.5% 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares LeGrand and Preformed Line Products”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LeGrand	$10.72 billion	3.70	$1.41 billion	$1.16	26.07
Preformed Line Products	$669.34 million	2.70	$35.28 million	$8.88	41.63

LeGrand has higher revenue and earnings than Preformed Line Products. LeGrand is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Preformed Line Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares LeGrand and Preformed Line Products’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LeGrand	13.01%	17.74%	7.34%
Preformed Line Products	5.82%	10.64%	7.65%

About LeGrand

Legrand SA, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and sells electrical and digital building infrastructures in Europe, North and Central America, and internationally. The company offers energy distribution, protection, and management solutions, such as electric vehicle charging, residential and small commercial panels, switchboards and power cabinets, and UPS devices; and wiring devices, connected home and building control solutions, and guestroom solutions, as well as back, junction, DCL, and floor boxes. It also provides security, communication, and network solutions, including access security, digital home networks, emergency lighting, fire alarms, IT networks, intercom and door entry, and nurse call systems; conduits and cable management solutions comprising trunking, ducts, tubes, floor boxes, columns and feeders, and workstation solutions; industrial products, such as enclosures, connections, transformers and power supply, marking accessories and cable ties, motor control and protection, fuse protection, and industrial plugs and sockets, as well as control, button, and signaling products; installation accessories, including wiring accessories, extension cords, multi-outlet units, cable ties and fasteners, and connection boxes and terminals; and lighting products and accessories. The company's products are used in hotels, offices, data centers, shopping centers, health care, industrial, and residential buildings. It also exports its products to approximately 170 countries. Legrand SA was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Limoges, France.

About Preformed Line Products

Preformed Line Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products and systems that are used in the construction and maintenance of overhead, ground-mounted, and underground networks for the energy, telecommunication, cable, data communication, and other industries. The company offers optical ground wire products to support, protect, terminate, and splice transmission and distribution lines, as well as bolted, welded, and compressed connectors for substations; and string hardware products, polymer insulators, wildlife protection, substation fittings, and motion control devices. It also provides rugged outside plant closures to protect and support wireline and wireless networks, such as copper cable or fiber optic cable from moisture, environmental hazards, and other contaminants; and hardware assemblies, pole line hardware, plastic products, cable dynamics/vibration solutions, interior/exterior connectors, tools, and urethane solutions that are used by energy, renewable energy, communications, cable, and special industries for various applications. The company serves public and private energy utilities and communication companies, cable operators, governmental agencies, contractors and subcontractors, distributors, and value-added resellers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It markets its products through a direct sales force, as well as through manufacturing representatives. Preformed Line Products Company was incorporated in 1947 and is headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio.