Continental Building Products (CBPX) versus Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) Critical Review

Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS) and Continental Building Products (NYSE:CBPX) are both construction companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitabiliy.

Risk & Volatility

Masco Corporation has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Continental Building Products has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Masco Corporation pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Continental Building Products does not pay a dividend. Masco Corporation pays out 24.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Masco Corporation has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Masco Corporation and Continental Building Products, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Masco Corporation	0	2	13	0	2.87
Continental Building Products	0	3	2	0	2.40

Masco Corporation presently has a consensus target price of $40.62, suggesting a potential upside of 5.96%. Continental Building Products has a consensus target price of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.53%. Given Continental Building Products’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Continental Building Products is more favorable than Masco Corporation.

Profitability

This table compares Masco Corporation and Continental Building Products’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Masco Corporation	7.09%	20,509.09%	10.67%
Continental Building Products	9.16%	15.43%	7.54%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.9% of Masco Corporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.6% of Continental Building Products shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Masco Corporation shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Continental Building Products shares are owned by 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Masco Corporation and Continental Building Products’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Masco Corporation	$7.47 billion	1.63	$1.23 billion	$1.62	23.66
Continental Building Products	$470.51 million	1.94	$132.24 million	$1.09	21.33

Masco Corporation has higher revenue and earnings than Continental Building Products. Continental Building Products is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Masco Corporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Masco Corporation beats Continental Building Products on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

Masco Corporation Company Profile

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, markets and distributes branded home improvement and building products. The Company operates through four business segments: Plumbing Products, Decorative Architectural Products, Cabinetry Products, and Windows and Other Specialty Products. The Company’s portfolio of brands includes BEHR paint; DELTA and HANSGROHE faucets, bath and shower fixtures; KRAFTMAID and MERILLAT cabinets; MILGARD windows and doors, and HOT SPRING spas. The Company’s plumbing products include faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bathing units, shower enclosures and toilets and are sold to home center retailers and to wholesalers and distributors. It also produces architectural coatings, including paints, primers, specialty paints, stains and waterproofing products. In North America, it manufactures and sells value-priced, stock and semi-custom assembled cabinetry for kitchen, bath, storage, home office and home entertainment applications.

Continental Building Products Company Profile

Continental Building Products, Inc. is a manufacturer of gypsum wallboard and complementary finishing products. The Company operates through wallboard segment. Gypsum wallboard is a primary building material used in residential and commercial construction and in repair and remodel (R&R). It offers customers a range of gypsum wallboard products, including LiftLite, its lightweight product designed to lift and install; its Mold Defense line of products designed for protection against mold and mildew, and its Weather Defense line of moisture and mold-resistant exterior sheathing. The Company also operates a finishing products business that manufactures a line of joint compounds at its plant in Silver Grove (Kentucky) and its joint compound plant in Chambly (Quebec). The Company manufactures gypsum wallboard related products for commercial and residential buildings and houses. The Company’s manufacturing facilities are concentrated in the eastern United States and eastern Canada.