Head-To-Head Comparison: Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) versus Knife River (NYSE:KNF)

Knife River (NYSE:KNF) and Vulcan Materials (NYSE:VMC) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Knife River and Vulcan Materials”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Knife River	$3.38 billion	0.97	$157.07 million	$2.36	24.46
Vulcan Materials	$7.94 billion	4.60	$1.08 billion	$8.45	33.71

Vulcan Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Knife River. Knife River is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vulcan Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Knife River has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vulcan Materials has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Knife River and Vulcan Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Knife River	3	3	4	1	2.27
Vulcan Materials	1	9	12	0	2.50

Knife River presently has a consensus target price of $65.29, suggesting a potential upside of 13.12%. Vulcan Materials has a consensus target price of $311.94, suggesting a potential upside of 9.51%. Given Knife River’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Knife River is more favorable than Vulcan Materials.

Profitability

This table compares Knife River and Vulcan Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Knife River	3.98%	8.22%	3.38%
Vulcan Materials	13.77%	13.03%	6.65%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.1% of Knife River shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.4% of Vulcan Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Knife River shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Vulcan Materials shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Vulcan Materials beats Knife River on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Knife River

Knife River Corporation is an aggregates-based construction materials and contracting company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. It produces and sells construction materials, including crushed stone, sand and gravel, ready-mix concrete, asphalt and cement. The company also provides construction services such as asphalt paving, road building, site development and underground utility work. Its operations serve customers across parts of the western, northwestern and central United States, including public agencies and commercial customers.

About Vulcan Materials

Vulcan Materials Company is a U.S.-based producer of construction materials, with its core business focused on aggregates such as crushed stone, sand and gravel. These materials are used in roads, buildings and other infrastructure projects. The company also produces asphalt mix and ready-mixed concrete, serving customers in the construction and infrastructure industries. Its operations are concentrated across the southern and western United States, as well as parts of the Mid-Atlantic region. Founded in 1909 and headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Vulcan Materials has grown into one of the largest producers of construction aggregates in the United States.