Analyzing Construction Partners (NASDAQ:ROAD) and Hillman Solutions (NASDAQ:HLMN)

Construction Partners (NASDAQ:ROAD) and Hillman Solutions (NASDAQ:HLMN) are both construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Construction Partners and Hillman Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Construction Partners	1	3	2	1	2.43
Hillman Solutions	0	3	4	0	2.57

Construction Partners presently has a consensus target price of $122.20, suggesting a potential upside of 7.81%. Hillman Solutions has a consensus target price of $11.83, suggesting a potential upside of 26.56%. Given Hillman Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hillman Solutions is more favorable than Construction Partners.

Risk and Volatility

Construction Partners has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hillman Solutions has a beta of 1.65, meaning that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.8% of Construction Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.1% of Hillman Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.4% of Construction Partners shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of Hillman Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Construction Partners and Hillman Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Construction Partners	3.62%	14.42%	4.25%
Hillman Solutions	2.44%	9.71%	4.95%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Construction Partners and Hillman Solutions”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Construction Partners	$2.81 billion	2.28	$101.78 million	$1.83	61.94
Hillman Solutions	$1.47 billion	1.25	$17.25 million	$0.19	49.21

Construction Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Hillman Solutions. Hillman Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Construction Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Construction Partners beats Hillman Solutions on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Construction Partners

Construction Partners, Inc., a civil infrastructure company, constructs and maintains roadways in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The company provides various products and services to public and private infrastructure projects, such as highways, roads, bridges, airports, and commercial and residential developments. It also engages in manufacturing and distributing hot mix asphalt (HMA) for internal use and sales to third parties in connection with construction projects; and paving activities, including the construction of roadway base layers and application of asphalt pavement. In addition, the company is involved in site development, including the installation of utility and drainage systems; mining aggregates, such as sand, gravel, and construction stones that are used as raw materials in the production of HMA; and distributing liquid asphalt cement for internal use and sales to third parties in connection with HMA production. The company was formerly known as SunTx CPI Growth Company, Inc. and changed its name to Construction Partners, Inc. in September 2017. Construction Partners, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Dothan, Alabama.

About Hillman Solutions

Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hillman is a leading North American provider of complete hardware solutions, delivered with industry best customer service to over 40,000 locations. Hillman designs innovative product and merchandising solutions for complex categories that deliver an outstanding customer experience to home improvement centers, mass merchants, national and regional hardware stores, pet supply stores, and OEM & Industrial customers. Leveraging a world-class distribution and sales network, Hillman delivers a “small business” experience with “big business” efficiency.