Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) versus NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) Critical Contrast

NWPX Infrastructure (NASDAQ:NWPX) and Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

80.6% of NWPX Infrastructure shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.9% of Ardagh Metal Packaging shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of NWPX Infrastructure shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Ardagh Metal Packaging shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

NWPX Infrastructure has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ardagh Metal Packaging has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NWPX Infrastructure and Ardagh Metal Packaging”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NWPX Infrastructure	$492.55 million	1.25	$34.21 million	$3.68	17.40
Ardagh Metal Packaging	$4.91 billion	0.49	-$3.00 million	($0.01)	-405.50

NWPX Infrastructure has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ardagh Metal Packaging. Ardagh Metal Packaging is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NWPX Infrastructure, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for NWPX Infrastructure and Ardagh Metal Packaging, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NWPX Infrastructure	0	3	1	1	2.60
Ardagh Metal Packaging	0	5	1	0	2.17

NWPX Infrastructure currently has a consensus target price of $62.50, indicating a potential downside of 2.42%. Ardagh Metal Packaging has a consensus target price of $4.28, indicating a potential upside of 5.43%. Given Ardagh Metal Packaging’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ardagh Metal Packaging is more favorable than NWPX Infrastructure.

Profitability

This table compares NWPX Infrastructure and Ardagh Metal Packaging’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NWPX Infrastructure	7.04%	9.65%	6.18%
Ardagh Metal Packaging	0.30%	-58.16%	2.71%

Summary

NWPX Infrastructure beats Ardagh Metal Packaging on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NWPX Infrastructure

Northwest Pipe Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and supply of water-related infrastructure products in North America. It operates in two segments, Engineered Steel Pressure Pipe (SPP) and Precast Infrastructure and Engineered Systems (Precast). The SPP segment offers large-diameter and high-pressure steel pipeline systems for use in water infrastructure applications, which are primarily related to drinking water systems. Its products are also used for hydroelectric power systems, wastewater systems, seismic resiliency, and other applications. In addition, this segment makes products for industrial plant piping systems and certain structural applications. The Precast segment provides stormwater and wastewater technology products, precast, and reinforced concrete products, including reinforced concrete pipe, manholes, box culverts, vaults and catch basins, pump lift stations, oil water separators, biofiltration units, steel casing pipes, and bar-wrapped concrete cylinder pipes, as well as pipeline system joints, fittings, specialized components, and other environmental and engineered solutions. The company sells its water infrastructure products under ParkUSA, Geneva Pipe and Precast, Permalok, and Northwest Pipe Company brands primarily to installation contractors. Northwest Pipe Company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.

About Ardagh Metal Packaging

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A., together with its subsidiaries, supplies consumer metal beverage cans in Europe, the United States, and Brazil. Its products are used in various end-use categories, including beer, carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, hard seltzers, juices, pre-mixed cocktails, teas, sparkling waters, and wine. The company serves beverage producers. Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. is a subsidiary of Ardagh Group S.A.