Analyzing Spirax Group (OTCMKTS:SPXSY) & ATS (NYSE:ATS)

Spirax Group (OTCMKTS:SPXSY) and ATS (NYSE:ATS) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.4% of Spirax Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.8% of ATS shares are held by institutional investors. 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Spirax Group and ATS, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spirax Group	0	1	0	1	3.00
ATS	1	1	2	1	2.60

ATS has a consensus target price of $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.59%. Given ATS’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ATS is more favorable than Spirax Group.

Volatility and Risk

Spirax Group has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ATS has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Spirax Group and ATS”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spirax Group	$2.13 billion	N/A	$244.34 million	N/A	N/A
ATS	$1.82 billion	1.77	-$20.16 million	$0.15	218.90

Spirax Group has higher revenue and earnings than ATS.

Profitability

This table compares Spirax Group and ATS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spirax Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
ATS	0.77%	9.67%	3.74%

Summary

ATS beats Spirax Group on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spirax Group

Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc provides engineered solutions it operates through three segments: Steam Thermal Solutions; Electric Thermal Solutions; and Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions. The company offers industrial and commercial steam systems, including condensate management, controls, and thermal energy management products and solutions for heating, curing, cooking, drying, cleaning, sterilizing, space heating, humidifying, vacuum packing, and producing hot water; electrical process heating and temperature management solutions, such as industrial heaters and systems, heat tracing, and various component technologies for industrial processes; and peristaltic and niche pumps and associated fluid path technologies, including tubing, and specialty filling systems and products for single-use applications. It serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology, food, beverage, oil, gas, chemical, power generation, healthcare, water and wastewater, buildings, mining and precious metal processing, semiconductor, and transport sectors, as well as original equipment manufacturers. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors. It operates in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; the Asia Pacific; and the Americas. The company was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Cheltenham, the United Kingdom.

About ATS

ATS Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides automation solutions worldwide. The company is also involved in planning, designing, building, commissioning, and servicing automated manufacturing and assembly systems, including automation products and test solutions. In addition, it offers pre-automation services comprising discovery and analysis, concept development, simulation, and total cost of ownership modelling; post automation services, including training, process optimization, preventative maintenance, emergency and on-call support, spare parts, retooling, retrofits, and equipment relocation; and contract manufacturing services, as well as after sales and services. Further, the company provides engineering design, prototyping, process verification, specification writing, software and manufacturing process controls development, standard automation products/platforms, equipment design and build, third-party equipment qualification, procurement and integration, automation system installation, product line commissioning, validation, and documentation services. Additionally, it offers value engineering, supply chain management, and integration and manufacturing capabilities, as well as other automation products and solutions; and software and digital solutions comprising connected factory floor management systems to capture, analyze, and use real time machine performance data to troubleshoot, deliver process and product solutions, prevent equipment downtime, drive operational efficiency, and unlock performance for sustainable production improvements. ATS Corporation serves life sciences, transportation and mobility, consumer products, food and beverage, electronics, nuclear, packaging, warehousing and distribution, and energy markets. The company was formerly known as ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. and changed its name to ATS Corporation in November 2022. ATS Corporation was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Canada.