Head to Head Survey: Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI) and Carrier Global (NYSE:CARR)

Carrier Global (NYSE:CARR) and Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Carrier Global and Armstrong World Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carrier Global	0	10	11	0	2.52
Armstrong World Industries	0	3	5	1	2.78

Carrier Global presently has a consensus price target of $70.43, suggesting a potential upside of 28.29%. Armstrong World Industries has a consensus price target of $213.25, suggesting a potential upside of 27.03%. Given Carrier Global’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Carrier Global is more favorable than Armstrong World Industries.

Profitability

This table compares Carrier Global and Armstrong World Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carrier Global	5.52%	14.68%	5.51%
Armstrong World Industries	18.60%	37.35%	17.06%

Dividends

Carrier Global pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Armstrong World Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Carrier Global pays out 66.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Armstrong World Industries pays out 18.6% 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. Carrier Global has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Armstrong World Industries has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Carrier Global is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

Carrier Global has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Armstrong World Industries has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Carrier Global and Armstrong World Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carrier Global	$21.75 billion	2.08	$1.48 billion	$1.44	38.12
Armstrong World Industries	$1.62 billion	4.38	$308.70 million	$7.30	23.00

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.0% of Carrier Global shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Armstrong World Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Carrier Global shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Armstrong World Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Armstrong World Industries beats Carrier Global on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Carrier Global

Carrier Global Corporation provides heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, fire, security, and building automation technologies in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: HVAC, Refrigeration, and Fire & Security. The HVAC segment provides products, controls, services, and solutions to meet the heating, cooling, and ventilation needs of residential and commercial customers. Its products include air conditioners, heating systems, heat pumps, controls, and aftermarket components, as well as aftermarket repair and maintenance services and building automation solutions. The Refrigeration segment offers transport refrigeration and monitoring products and services, as well as digital solutions for trucks, trailers, shipping containers, intermodal applications, food retail, and warehouse cooling; and commercial refrigeration solutions, such as refrigerated cabinets, freezers, systems, and controls. The Fire & Security segment provides various residential, commercial, and industrial technologies, including fire, flame, gas, smoke, and carbon monoxide detection; portable fire extinguishers; fire suppression systems; intruder alarms; access control systems; video management systems; and electronic controls. This segment also offers fire and security service, such as audit, design, installation, and system integration, as well as aftermarket maintenance and repair and monitoring services. It offers its products under the Autronica, Det-Tronics, Edwards, Aritech, Fireye, GST, Kidde, LenelS2, Marioff, Onity, and Supra; Carrier, Toshiba, Automated Logic, Bryant, CIAT, Day & Night, Heil, NORESCO, and Riello; and Carrier Commercial Refrigeration, Carrier Transicold, and Sensitech brands. Carrier Global Corporation was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

About Armstrong World Industries

Armstrong World Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of ceiling and wall solutions in the Americas. It operates through Mineral Fiber and Architectural Specialties segments. The company offers mineral fiber, fiberglass wool, metal, wood, felt, wood fiber, and glass-reinforced-gypsum; ceiling component products, such as ceiling perimeters and trims, as well as grid products that support drywall ceiling systems; ceilings, walls, and facades for use in commercial settings; and manufactures ceiling suspension system (grid) products. It serves commercial and residential construction markets, as well as renovation of existing buildings sectors. The company sells its products to resale distributors, ceiling system contractors, wholesalers, and retailers comprising large home centers. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.