Contrasting Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX) & Concrete Pumping (NASDAQ:BBCP)

Concrete Pumping (NASDAQ:BBCP) and Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

34.2% of Concrete Pumping shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.5% of Comfort Systems USA shares are owned by institutional investors. 28.2% of Concrete Pumping shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Comfort Systems USA shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Concrete Pumping and Comfort Systems USA, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Concrete Pumping	0	2	0	2	3.00
Comfort Systems USA	0	2	8	0	2.80

Concrete Pumping currently has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.65%. Comfort Systems USA has a consensus target price of $1,995.00, indicating a potential upside of 61.77%. Given Comfort Systems USA’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Comfort Systems USA is more favorable than Concrete Pumping.

Dividends

Concrete Pumping pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Comfort Systems USA pays an annual dividend of $3.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Concrete Pumping pays out 325.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Comfort Systems USA pays out 7.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Comfort Systems USA has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Concrete Pumping and Comfort Systems USA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Concrete Pumping	2.45%	3.91%	1.16%
Comfort Systems USA	13.01%	55.24%	20.61%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Concrete Pumping and Comfort Systems USA”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Concrete Pumping	$392.87 million	1.22	$6.37 million	$0.16	59.22
Comfort Systems USA	$9.10 billion	4.74	$1.02 billion	$46.32	26.62

Comfort Systems USA has higher revenue and earnings than Concrete Pumping. Comfort Systems USA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Concrete Pumping, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Concrete Pumping has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Comfort Systems USA has a beta of 1.66, meaning that its stock price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Comfort Systems USA beats Concrete Pumping on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Concrete Pumping

Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. provides concrete pumping and waste management services in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company offers concrete pumping services to general contractors and concrete finishing companies in the commercial, infrastructure, and residential sectors under the Brundage-Bone and Capital Pumping brands; and industrial cleanup and containment services primarily to customers in the construction industry under the Eco-Pan brand. It leases and rents concrete pumping equipment, pans, and containers. As of October 31, 2023, the company owned a fleet of approximately 930 boom pumps, 90 placing booms, 20 telebelts, 300 stationary pumps, and 115 waste management trucks. Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Thornton, Colorado.

About Comfort Systems USA

Comfort Systems USA, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides mechanical and electrical installation, renovation, maintenance, repair, and replacement services for the mechanical and electrical services industry in the United States. It operates through two segments, Mechanical and Electrical. The company offers heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as plumbing, electrical, piping and controls, off-site construction, monitoring, and fire protection. It also engages in the design, engineering, integration, installation, and start-up of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) and related systems in new buildings; and renovation, expansion, maintenance, monitoring, repair, and replacement of MEP systems in existing buildings. In addition, the company provides remote monitoring of power usage, temperature, pressure, humidity and air flow for MEP and other building systems. It serves building owners and developers, general contractors, architects, consulting engineers, and property managers in the commercial, industrial, and institutional MEP markets. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.