Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) & Japan Steel Works (OTCMKTS:JPSWY) Financial Contrast

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) and Japan Steel Works (OTCMKTS:JPSWY) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Middleby and Japan Steel Works”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Middleby	$3.20 billion	2.20	-$277.73 million	($8.48)	-17.81
Japan Steel Works	$1.63 billion	2.64	$118.54 million	$0.93	31.51

Japan Steel Works has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Middleby. Middleby is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Japan Steel Works, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Middleby has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Japan Steel Works has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Middleby and Japan Steel Works, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Middleby	1	2	6	0	2.56
Japan Steel Works	0	1	1	0	2.50

Middleby currently has a consensus price target of $189.71, suggesting a potential upside of 25.64%. Given Middleby’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Middleby is more favorable than Japan Steel Works.

Profitability

This table compares Middleby and Japan Steel Works’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Middleby	-11.46%	15.94%	7.34%
Japan Steel Works	7.41%	8.81%	4.39%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.6% of Middleby shares are held by institutional investors. 9.7% of Middleby shares are held by company 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.

Summary

Middleby beats Japan Steel Works on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Middleby

The Middleby Corporation designs, markets, manufactures, distributes, and services foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchen equipment worldwide. Its Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group segment offers conveyor, combi, convection, baking, proofing, deck, speed cooking, and hydrovection ovens; ranges, fryers, and rethermalizers; steam cooking, food warming, catering, induction cooking, and countertop cooking equipment; heated cabinets, charbroilers, ventless cooking systems, kitchen ventilation, toasters, griddles, charcoal grills, professional mixers, stainless steel fabrication, custom millwork, professional refrigerators, blast chillers, cold rooms, ice machines, and freezers; soft serve ice cream, coffee and beverage dispensing, home and professional craft brewing equipment; and fry dispensers, bottle filling and canning equipment, IoT solutions, and controls development and manufacturing. The company's Food Processing Equipment Group segment provides batch, baking, proofing, conveyor belt, and continuous processing ovens; frying and automated thermal processing systems; tumblers, massagers, grinders, slicers, reduction and emulsion systems, mixers, and blenders; battering, breading, and seeding equipment; water cutting systems, food presses, food suspension equipment, filling and depositing solutions, and forming equipment; and automated washing systems, auto-guided vehicles, food safety, food handling, freezing, and defrosting and packaging equipment. Its Residential Kitchen Equipment Group segment offers kitchen equipment comprising cookers, stoves, cooktops, microwaves, ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, undercounter refrigeration, wine cellars, ice machines, beer dispensers, mixers, rotisseries, and ventilation and outdoor cooking equipment. The company was formerly known as Middleby Marshall Oven Company and changed its name to The Middleby Corporation in 1985. The company was founded in 1888 and is based in Elgin, Illinois.

About Japan Steel Works

The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. engages in the provision of industrial machinery products, and material and engineering business in Japan and internationally. It operates through Industrial Machinery Products Business, and Material and Engineering Business segments. The Industrial Machinery Products Business segment offers plastic production and processing machinery, such as pelletizers, film and sheet manufacturing equipment, and twin-screw extruders; molding machines including plastic injection molding, magnesium injection molding, and blow molding machines; and other machinery consists of excimer laser annealing systems, defense equipment, railway products, hot press devices, vacuum laminators, and deposit systems, as well as after-sales services for plastics, mobility, high-performance batteries, electronic devices, and defense applications. The Material and Engineering Business segment provides steel casting and forgings, such as reactor and steam generator parts, rotor shafts, turbine casings, die steel, steel rolls for steel manufacturing, and clad steel plates; and engineering and other services, including design and analysis, welded structures, inspection and survey, and hydrogen pressure accumulators and related products for use in power generation equipment, renewable energy, and infrastructure applications. The company offers photonics, composite materials, and metallic materials for use in semiconductors and electronic devices, cameras and sensing devices, aircraft and mobility components, and electronic parts. The Japan Steel Works, Ltd. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Shinagawa, Japan.