Comparing RBC Bearings (NYSE:RBC) and Broadwind Energy (NASDAQ:BWEN)

Broadwind Energy (NASDAQ:BWEN) and RBC Bearings (NYSE:RBC) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Broadwind Energy has a beta of 1.74, indicating that its share price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RBC Bearings has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Broadwind Energy and RBC Bearings”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Broadwind Energy	$158.05 million	0.68	$5.24 million	$0.22	20.82
RBC Bearings	$1.87 billion	10.21	$287.60 million	$9.09	66.41

RBC Bearings has higher revenue and earnings than Broadwind Energy. Broadwind Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RBC Bearings, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

33.3% of Broadwind Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Broadwind Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of RBC Bearings shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Broadwind Energy and RBC Bearings’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Broadwind Energy	3.30%	-2.05%	-1.09%
RBC Bearings	15.37%	11.35%	7.28%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Broadwind Energy and RBC Bearings, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Broadwind Energy	0	2	1	0	2.33
RBC Bearings	0	2	6	0	2.75

Broadwind Energy currently has a consensus target price of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.00%. RBC Bearings has a consensus target price of $584.00, indicating a potential downside of 3.26%. Given Broadwind Energy’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Broadwind Energy is more favorable than RBC Bearings.

Summary

RBC Bearings beats Broadwind Energy on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Broadwind Energy

Broadwind, Inc. manufactures and sells structures, equipment, and components for clean tech and other specialized applications primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: Heavy Fabrications, Gearing, and Industrial Solutions. The Heavy Fabrications segment provides fabrications to various industrial markets. It offers steel towers and adapters primarily to wind turbine manufacturers. Its Gearing segment provides gearing, gearboxes, and precision machined components to a range of customers in diverse markets, including surface and underground mining, wind energy, steel, material handling, infrastructure, onshore and offshore oil and gas fracking and drilling, marine, and other industrial markets. This segment also offers heat treat services for aftermarket and original equipment manufacturer applications. The Industrial Solutions segment provides supply chain solutions for offering instrumentation and controls, valve assemblies, sensor devices, fuel system components, electrical junction boxes and wiring, energy storage services, and electromechanical devices; light fabrication, inventory management, and kitting and assembly services; packaging solutions; and supply chain solutions, light fabrication, inventory management, and kitting and assembly services for combined cycle natural gas turbine market. It sells its products to the energy, mining, and infrastructure sectors through its direct sales force and independent sales agents. The company was formerly known as Broadwind Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Broadwind, Inc. in May 2020. Broadwind, Inc. is headquartered in Cicero, Illinois.

About RBC Bearings

RBC Bearings Incorporated manufactures and markets engineered precision bearings, components, and systems in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Aerospace/Defense and Industrial. The company produces plain bearings with self-lubricating or metal-to-metal designs, including rod end bearings, spherical plain bearings, and journal bearings; roller bearings, such as tapered roller bearings, needle roller bearings, and needle bearing track rollers and cam followers, which are anti-friction products that are used in industrial applications and military aircraft platforms; and ball bearings include high precision aerospace, airframe control, thin section, and industrial ball bearings that utilize high precision ball elements to reduce friction in high-speed applications. In addition, it offers mounted bearing products include mounted ball bearings, mounted roller bearings, and mounted plain bearings; and enclosed gearing product lines, including quantis gearmotor, torque arm, tigear, magnagear and maxum, and controlled start transmission. Further, the company's power transmission components include mechanical drive components, couplings, and conveyor components; engineered hydraulics and valves for aircraft and submarine applications, and aerospace and defense aftermarket services; fasteners; precision mechanical components, which are used in various general industrial applications; and machine tool collets that are used for holding circulars or rod-like pieces. It serves automotive, tool holding, agricultural and semiconductor machinery, commercial and defense aerospace, ground defense, construction and mining, oil and natural resource extraction, heavy truck, marine, rail and train, material handling, food and beverage, packaging and canning, wind, and general industrial markets through its direct sales force, and a network of industrial and aerospace distributors. The company was founded in 1919 and is based in Oxford, Connecticut.