Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE – Get Rating) and Gencor Industries (NASDAQ:GENC – Get Rating) are both small-cap industrial products companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.
Risk & Volatility
Astec Industries has a beta of 1.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gencor Industries has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Astec Industries and Gencor Industries’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Astec Industries | $1.33 billion | 0.73 | -$100,000.00 | $0.35 | 122.74 |
| Gencor Industries | $109.05 million | 1.95 | -$370,000.00 | $0.53 | 27.43 |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
90.1% of Astec Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.5% of Gencor Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Astec Industries shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 28.9% of Gencor Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Astec Industries and Gencor Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Astec Industries | 0.59% | 6.17% | 3.99% |
| Gencor Industries | 7.16% | 4.60% | 4.21% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Astec Industries and Gencor Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Astec Industries | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Gencor Industries | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Astec Industries currently has a consensus target price of $49.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.06%. Given Astec Industries’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Astec Industries is more favorable than Gencor Industries.
Summary
Astec Industries beats Gencor Industries on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Astec Industries
Astec Industries, Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Infrastructure Solutions and Materials Solutions. The Infrastructure Solutions segment offers asphalt plants and related components, heaters, concrete dust control systems, asphalt pavers, vaporizers, concrete material handling systems, screeds, heat recovery units, paste back-fill plants, asphalt storage tanks, hot oil heaters, bagging plants, fuel storage tanks, industrial and asphalt burners and systems, custom batch plants, material transfer vehicles, soil stabilizing-reclaiming machinery, blower trucks and trailers, milling machines, soil remediation plants, wood chippers and grinders, pump trailers, concrete batch plants, control systems, liquid terminals, storage equipment and related parts, construction and retrofits, polymer plants, and concrete mixers, as well as engineering and environmental permitting services. This segment provides its products to asphalt producers; highway and heavy equipment contractors; utility contractors; sand and gravel producers; construction, demolition, recycle and crushing contractors; forestry and environmental recycling contractors; mine and quarry operators; port and inland terminal authorities; power stations; and domestic and foreign government agencies. The Materials Solutions segment designs and manufactures crushing equipment, mobile plants, bulk material handling solutions, vibrating equipment, screening equipment, electrical control centers, modular plants and systems, conveying equipment, plant automation products, portable plants, and mineral processing equipment, as well as offers consulting and engineering services. Astec Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
About Gencor Industries
Gencor Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells heavy machinery used in the production of highway construction materials and environmental control equipment. The company offers hot-mix asphalt plants to produce asphalt paving materials; related asphalt plant equipment, including hot-mix storage silos, fabric filtration systems, cold feed bins, and other plant components; and a range of mobile batch plants. It also provides combustion systems that transform solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels into usable energy, or burn multiple fuels in asphalt and aggregate drying industries; and combustion systems for rotary dryers, kilns, fume and liquid incinerators, and fuel heaters, as well as industrial incinerators. In addition, the company offers thermal fluid heat transfer systems that transfer heat for storage, heating, and pumping viscous materials, such as asphalt, chemicals, heavy oils, etc. in various industrial and petrochemical applications; specialty storage tanks for various industrial uses; and asphalt pavers under the Blaw-Knox brand. Gencor Industries, Inc. sells its products primarily to the highway construction industry through its sales representatives, and independent dealers and agents worldwide. The company was formerly known as Mechtron International Corporation and changed its name to Gencor Industries, Inc. in 1987. Gencor Industries, Inc. was founded in 1894 and is based in Orlando, Florida.
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