Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT – Get Rating) and Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA – Get Rating) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
70.8% of Crane NXT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.8% of Mueller Water Products shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Crane NXT shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Mueller Water Products shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility and Risk
Crane NXT has a beta of 1.49, meaning that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mueller Water Products has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Crane NXT | 13.10% | 24.45% | 10.14% |
| Mueller Water Products | 6.18% | 13.00% | 5.99% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Crane NXT and Mueller Water Products’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Crane NXT | $3.37 billion | 0.78 | $401.10 million | $7.55 | 6.22 |
| Mueller Water Products | $1.25 billion | 1.67 | $76.60 million | $0.51 | 26.08 |
Crane NXT has higher revenue and earnings than Mueller Water Products. Crane NXT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mueller Water Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings for Crane NXT and Mueller Water Products, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Crane NXT | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Mueller Water Products | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2.20 |
Mueller Water Products has a consensus price target of $12.67, indicating a potential downside of 4.76%. Given Mueller Water Products’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Mueller Water Products is more favorable than Crane NXT.
Dividends
Crane NXT pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Mueller Water Products pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Crane NXT pays out 24.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mueller Water Products pays out 47.1% 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. Mueller Water Products has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Crane NXT is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Summary
Crane NXT beats Mueller Water Products on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Crane NXT
Crane NXT Co. engages in the management of a subsidiary, which manufacture aerospace equipment, electronics systems, and flow control systems. The company was founded on December 2, 2021 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.
About Mueller Water Products
Mueller Water Products, Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of products used in the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water. It operates through the Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions segments. The Water Flow Solutions segment includes iron gate valves, specialty valves, and service brass products. The Water Management Solutions segment focuses on fire hydrants, repair and installation, natural gas, metering, leak detection, pressure control, and software products. The company was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.
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