Analyzing PowerBank (NASDAQ:PBK) and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD)

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) and PowerBank (NASDAQ:PBK) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.1% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and PowerBank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	8.27%	16.46%	6.48%
PowerBank	N/A	-97.78%	-17.92%

Volatility and Risk

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PowerBank has a beta of 2.53, indicating that its stock price is 153% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and PowerBank, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	1	4	1	0	2.00
PowerBank	2	1	2	0	2.00

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock presently has a consensus price target of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. Given Great Lakes Dredge & Dock’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is more favorable than PowerBank.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and PowerBank”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock	$888.28 million	1.28	$73.47 million	$1.07	15.89
PowerBank	$27.41 million	0.46	-$17.54 million	($0.42)	-0.46

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has higher revenue and earnings than PowerBank. PowerBank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock beats PowerBank on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. engages in the provision of dredging services. Its projects include channel and port maintenance, channel deepening and port expansion, coastal protection and restoration, as well as land reclamation. The company was founded by William A. Lydon and Frederick C. Drews in 1890 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

About PowerBank

PowerBank Corporation, formerly known as SolarBank Corporation, operates as an independent renewable and clean energy project developer and asset operator in Canada and the United States. The company engages in the site origination, development, financing, engineering, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance, and asset management of solar photovoltaic power generation projects. It offers solar energy solutions in the areas of behind-the-meter solar power plants, electricity grid connected community solar gardens, and utility scale solar farms. The company was formerly known as Abundant Solar Energy Inc. and changed its name to SolarBank Corporation in October 2022. SolarBank Corporation was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.