BMC Stock Holdings (BMCH) and Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LPX) Head to Head Survey

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE: LPX) and BMC Stock Holdings (NASDAQ:BMCH) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitabiliy, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Louisiana-Pacific Corporation and BMC Stock Holdings’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation	10.50%	17.13%	9.74%
BMC Stock Holdings	1.28%	9.29%	4.44%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Louisiana-Pacific Corporation and BMC Stock Holdings’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation	$2.45 billion	1.45	$443.50 million	$1.77	13.83
BMC Stock Holdings	$3.12 billion	0.44	$183.56 million	$0.62	33.15

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation has higher revenue, but lower earnings than BMC Stock Holdings. Louisiana-Pacific Corporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BMC Stock Holdings, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.3% of Louisiana-Pacific Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of BMC Stock Holdings shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Louisiana-Pacific Corporation shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of BMC Stock Holdings shares are held 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Louisiana-Pacific Corporation and BMC Stock Holdings, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation	1	5	2	0	2.13
BMC Stock Holdings	0	0	4	0	3.00

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation presently has a consensus price target of $27.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.29%. BMC Stock Holdings has a consensus price target of $24.50, suggesting a potential upside of 19.22%. Given BMC Stock Holdings’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe BMC Stock Holdings is more favorable than Louisiana-Pacific Corporation.

Risk and Volatility

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BMC Stock Holdings has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

BMC Stock Holdings beats Louisiana-Pacific Corporation on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Louisiana-Pacific Corporation

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation is a manufacturer of building products. The Company’s products are used in home construction, repair and remodeling, and outdoor structures. The Company operates in four segments, which include North America Oriented Strand Board (OSB), Siding, Engineered Wood Products (EWP) and South America. The OSB segment manufactures and distributes OSB structural panel products. The Siding segment offers two categories of products, which include SmartSide siding products and related accessories, and CanExel siding and accessories and other related products. The Engineered Wood Products (EWP) segment manufactures and distributes laminated veneer lumber, I-Joists, laminated strand lumber and other related products. The South American segment manufactures and distributes OSB and siding products in South America and certain export markets. Its engineered I-joists are used in residential and commercial flooring, and roofing systems and other structural applications.

About BMC Stock Holdings

BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. is a provider of building products and services in the United States residential construction market. The Company’s segments include Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Texas, Intermountain, Western and Mountain West divisions. Its product offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods and an array of products, including millwork, doors, windows, structural components, floor and roof trusses and wall panels. Its whole-house framing solution is Ready-Frame. It also offers its customers services, such as design, product specification, installation and installation management. It manufactures floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels, stairs, specialty millwork, windows and pre-hung doors. It also provides a range of installation services and special order products. The Company groups its building products and services into four product categories: structural components; lumber & lumber sheet goods; millwork, doors & windows, and other building products & services.