Head to Head Survey: Generac (NYSE:GNRC) and Broadwind Energy (NASDAQ:BWEN)

Generac (NYSE:GNRC) and Broadwind Energy (NASDAQ:BWEN) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Generac and Broadwind Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Generac	4.37%	15.45%	7.35%
Broadwind Energy	3.30%	-2.05%	-1.09%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

84.0% of Generac shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.3% of Broadwind Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 2.4% of Generac shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Broadwind Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Generac and Broadwind Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Generac	$4.21 billion	3.90	$159.55 million	$3.19	87.49
Broadwind Energy	$158.05 million	0.74	$5.24 million	$0.22	22.86

Generac has higher revenue and earnings than Broadwind Energy. Broadwind Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Generac, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Generac has a beta of 1.93, suggesting that its share price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Broadwind Energy has a beta of 1.8, suggesting that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Generac and Broadwind Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Generac	0	6	11	1	2.72
Broadwind Energy	0	2	1	0	2.33

Generac currently has a consensus price target of $278.65, suggesting a potential downside of 0.16%. Broadwind Energy has a consensus price target of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.28%. Given Broadwind Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Broadwind Energy is more favorable than Generac.

Summary

Generac beats Broadwind Energy on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Generac

Generac Holdings Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes various energy technology products and solution worldwide. The company offers residential automatic standby generators, automatic transfer switch, air-cooled engine residential standby generators, and liquid-cooled engine generators; Mobile Link, a remote monitoring system for home standby generators; residential storage solution, which consists of a system of batteries, an inverter, photovoltaic optimizers, power electronic controls, and other components; smart home solutions, such as smart thermostats and a suite of home monitoring products. It also provides smart home energy management devices and sensors for heating and cooling system; smart doorbell cameras; and portable and inverter generators; multiple portable battery solutions; manual transfer switches; outdoor power equipment, including trimmers, field and brush mowers, log splitters, stump grinders, chipper shredders, lawn and leaf vacuums, and pressure washers and water pumps; and battery-powered turf care products. In addition, the company offers commercial and industrial products comprising cleaner-burning natural gas fueled generators; light-commercial standby generators and related transfer switches; stationary generators; single-engine industrial generators; industrial standby generators; industrial transfer switches; light towers, mobile generators, commercial mobile pumps, heaters, dust-suppression equipment, and mobile energy storage systems; stationary energy storage system and related inverter products; and aftermarket service parts and product accessories. The company distributes its products through independent residential dealers, industrial distributors and dealers, national and regional retailers, e-commerce partners, electrical/HVAC/solar wholesalers, solar installers, catalogs, equipment rental companies, and other equipment distributors; and directly to end users. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

About Broadwind Energy

Broadwind, Inc. manufactures and sells structures, equipment, and components for clean tech and other specialized applications primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: Heavy Fabrications, Gearing, and Industrial Solutions. The Heavy Fabrications segment provides fabrications to various industrial markets. It offers steel towers and adapters primarily to wind turbine manufacturers. Its Gearing segment provides gearing, gearboxes, and precision machined components to a range of customers in diverse markets, including surface and underground mining, wind energy, steel, material handling, infrastructure, onshore and offshore oil and gas fracking and drilling, marine, and other industrial markets. This segment also offers heat treat services for aftermarket and original equipment manufacturer applications. The Industrial Solutions segment provides supply chain solutions for offering instrumentation and controls, valve assemblies, sensor devices, fuel system components, electrical junction boxes and wiring, energy storage services, and electromechanical devices; light fabrication, inventory management, and kitting and assembly services; packaging solutions; and supply chain solutions, light fabrication, inventory management, and kitting and assembly services for combined cycle natural gas turbine market. It sells its products to the energy, mining, and infrastructure sectors through its direct sales force and independent sales agents. The company was formerly known as Broadwind Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Broadwind, Inc. in May 2020. Broadwind, Inc. is headquartered in Cicero, Illinois.