Critical Contrast: Crane (NYSE:CR) vs. Valmet Oyj (OTCMKTS:VOYJF)

Crane (NYSE:CR) and Valmet Oyj (OTCMKTS:VOYJF) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Crane and Valmet Oyj, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crane	0	2	6	0	2.75
Valmet Oyj	0	0	0	0	N/A

Crane presently has a consensus target price of $155.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.64%. Given Crane’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Crane is more favorable than Valmet Oyj.

Profitability

This table compares Crane and Valmet Oyj’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crane	13.10%	24.45%	10.14%
Valmet Oyj	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Crane pays an annual dividend of $0.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Valmet Oyj pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Crane pays out 22.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Valmet Oyj pays out -38.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Crane and Valmet Oyj’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crane	$2.21 billion	3.91	$401.10 million	$3.73	40.49
Valmet Oyj	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.27)	-100.37

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

75.1% of Crane shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.1% of Valmet Oyj shares are held by institutional investors. 2.4% of Crane shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Crane beats Valmet Oyj on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crane

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials. The Aerospace & Electronics segment supplies critical components and systems, including original equipment and aftermarket parts for commercial aerospace, as well as the military aerospace, defense, and space markets. This segment also offers pressure sensors for aircraft engine control, aircraft braking systems for commercial aircraft and fighter jets, power conversion solutions for spacecraft, and lubrication systems. The Process Flow Technologies segment provides engineered fluid handling equipment for mission-critical applications. It offers process valves and related products, such as lined pipe, fittings and hoses, air-operated diaphragm and peristaltic pumps, instrumentation and sampling systems, valve positioning and control systems, and valve diagnostic and calibration systems; commercial valves; and pumps and systems. The Engineered Materials segment manufactures fiberglass-reinforced plastic panels and coils for use in the manufacturing of recreational vehicles, as well as in commercial and industrial building applications. This segment sells directly to RV, trailer, and truck manufacturers, as well as through distributors and retailers. The company provides its products and solutions to end markets, including commercial and military aerospace, defense, and space; chemical and pharmaceutical production; water and wastewater; non-residential and municipal construction; energy; and other general industrial and consumer-related applications. The company was formerly known as Crane Holdings, Co. Crane Company was founded in 1855 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.

About Valmet Oyj

Valmet Oyj develops and supplies process technologies, automation, and services for the pulp, paper, and energy industries in North America, South America, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Process Technologies segment offers pulping process equipment, process islands and complete pulp mills, individual board, tissue and paper machine sections, complete production lines and machine rebuilds, boiler islands, power plants, heating plants, environmental solutions, and technologies for converting biomass to fuels, chemicals, and materials. Its Automation segment offers distributed control systems, quality management systems, analyzers and measurements, industrial applications, and automation services and industrial internet solutions, as well as valves, pumps, valve controls, actuators and limit switches, valve spare parts, and services and industrial internet solutions. The company's Services segment provides spare and process parts, workshop and roll services, fabrics, maintenance development and outsourcing, field service, process upgrades, and industrial internet solutions. It serves pulp, board and paper, energy and industrial gas, biomaterials and fuel, chemical, and mineral industries. Valmet Oyj was founded in 1750 and is headquartered in Espoo, Finland.