Reviewing Taylor Devices (NASDAQ:TAYD) and Lindsay (NYSE:LNN)

Taylor Devices (NASDAQ:TAYD) and Lindsay (NYSE:LNN) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

17.6% of Taylor Devices shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.9% of Lindsay shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.7% of Taylor Devices shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Lindsay 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Taylor Devices and Lindsay”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Taylor Devices	$39.03 million	4.88	$8.56 million	$2.07	28.50
Lindsay	$635.86 million	1.75	$55.65 million	$5.32	20.56

Lindsay has higher revenue and earnings than Taylor Devices. Lindsay is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Taylor Devices, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Taylor Devices and Lindsay, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Taylor Devices	0	3	0	1	2.50
Lindsay	1	2	0	0	1.67

Taylor Devices currently has a consensus price target of $65.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.19%. Lindsay has a consensus price target of $119.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.80%. Given Taylor Devices’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Taylor Devices is more favorable than Lindsay.

Risk and Volatility

Taylor Devices has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lindsay has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Taylor Devices and Lindsay’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Taylor Devices	17.50%	9.64%	8.90%
Lindsay	8.75%	10.96%	6.74%

Summary

Taylor Devices beats Lindsay on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Taylor Devices

Taylor Devices, Inc. engages in design, development, manufacture, and marketing of shock absorption, rate control, and energy storage devices for use in machinery, equipment, and structures in the United States, Asia, and internationally. Its products include seismic dampers that are designed to mitigate the effects of earthquakes on structures; Fluidicshoks, which are compact shock absorbers primarily used in defense, aerospace, and commercial industries; and crane and industrial buffers, which are larger versions of the Fluidicshoks for industrial application on cranes and crane trolleys, truck docks, ladle and ingot cars, ore trolleys, and train car stops. The company's products also comprise self-adjusting shock absorbers that include versions of Fluidicshoks, and crane and industrial buffers, which automatically adjust to various impact conditions and are designed for high cycle application primarily in the heavy industry; liquid die springs that are used as component parts of machinery and equipment used in the manufacture of tools and dies; vibration dampers, which are primarily used by aerospace and defense industries to control the response of electronics and optical systems subjected to air, ship, or spacecraft vibration; machined springs used in the aerospace applications; and custom actuators for special aerospace and defense applications. It markets its products through a network of sales representatives and distributors. The company was incorporated in 1955 and is headquartered in North Tonawanda, New York.

About Lindsay

Lindsay Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides water management and road infrastructure products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Irrigation and Infrastructure. The Irrigation segment manufactures and markets center pivot, lateral move irrigation systems, and irrigation controls under the Zimmatic brand; hose reel travelers under the Perrot brand; and chemical injection systems, variable rate irrigation systems, flow meters, weather stations, soil moisture sensors, and remote monitoring and control systems. It also offers repair and replacement parts for its irrigation systems and controls, and diameter steel tubing; global positioning system positioning and guidance, variable rate irrigation, wireless irrigation management, irrigation scheduling, and smartphone applications; and industrial Internet of Things technology solutions, data acquisition and management systems, and custom electronic equipment for applications under the Elecsys brand. The Infrastructure segment provides Road Zipper System comprised of T-shaped concrete and steel barriers, barrier transfer machine, and variable length barriers which are used for highway reconstruction, paving and resurfacing, road widening, median and shoulder construction, and repairs to tunnels and bridges. Additionally, it offers redirective and non-redirective crash cushions to enhance highway safety at locations such as toll booths, freeway off-ramps, medians and roadside barrier ends, bridge supports, utility poles, and other fixed roadway hazards; specialty barriers; preformed tape and road safety accessory products, as well as rail products, such as signals and lights, structures, foundations, junction boxes, and signs. Lindsay Corporation was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.