Head to Head Review: Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY) and Park-Ohio (NASDAQ:PKOH)

Park-Ohio (NASDAQ:PKOH) and Ashtead Group (OTCMKTS:ASHTY) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Park-Ohio and Ashtead Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Park-Ohio	2.04%	11.50%	3.07%
Ashtead Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Park-Ohio and Ashtead Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Park-Ohio	0	1	2	0	2.67
Ashtead Group	0	1	2	0	2.67

Park-Ohio presently has a consensus target price of $59.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.92%. Given Park-Ohio’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Park-Ohio is more favorable than Ashtead Group.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

51.4% of Park-Ohio shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.8% of Ashtead Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 31.1% of Park-Ohio shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Park-Ohio and Ashtead Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Park-Ohio	$1.60 billion	0.42	$23.80 million	$1.88	24.92
Ashtead Group	$10.79 billion	2.47	$1.51 billion	$13.22	19.26

Ashtead Group has higher revenue and earnings than Park-Ohio. Ashtead Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Park-Ohio, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Park-Ohio beats Ashtead Group on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Park-Ohio

Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. is a diversified industrial company that provides supply-chain management services and manufactures components and equipment for industrial and transportation markets. Its operations are organized around Supply Technologies, Assembly Components and Engineered Products. Through Supply Technologies, the company sources, manages and distributes production parts and supplies for customers. Its other businesses make products that include engineered components, forged and machined parts, industrial fasteners, and induction heating and melting equipment.

About Ashtead Group

Ashtead Group is an equipment rental company serving construction, industrial, infrastructure, and other commercial customers. Its equipment includes tools, earthmoving machinery, aerial work platforms, power and climate-control systems, and related supplies. The company operates primarily through its Sunbelt Rentals brand, with a significant presence in the United States and operations in Canada and the United Kingdom. Its rental services support projects ranging from construction and facility maintenance to events and emergency response.