Palfinger (OTCMKTS:PLFRY) vs. Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) Critical Survey

Palfinger (OTCMKTS:PLFRY) and Columbus McKinnon (NASDAQ:CMCO) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk and valuation.

Dividends

Palfinger pays an annual dividend of $0.29 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Columbus McKinnon pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Palfinger pays out 25.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Columbus McKinnon pays out 17.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Palfinger and Columbus McKinnon, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Palfinger	0	0	0	0	N/A
Columbus McKinnon	0	0	2	0	3.00

Columbus McKinnon has a consensus price target of $51.50, indicating a potential upside of 57.64%. Given Columbus McKinnon’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Columbus McKinnon is more favorable than Palfinger.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Palfinger and Columbus McKinnon’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Palfinger	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.17	24.71
Columbus McKinnon	$1.02 billion	0.93	$46.62 million	$1.62	20.17

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.2% of Palfinger shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of Columbus McKinnon shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Columbus McKinnon shares are held by 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.

Profitability

This table compares Palfinger and Columbus McKinnon’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Palfinger	N/A	N/A	N/A
Columbus McKinnon	4.52%	9.50%	4.56%

Summary

Columbus McKinnon beats Palfinger on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Palfinger

Palfinger AG produces and sells crane and lifting solutions worldwide. It offers loader cranes, timber and recycling cranes, knuckle boom cranes, telescopic cranes, stiff boom cranes, winches and offshore equipment, offshore cranes, davit systems, boats, wind cranes, hooklifts, access platforms, tail lifts, passenger lifts, mobile cranes, truck mounted forklifts, railway systems, rope access, bridge inspection units, skiploaders, and lifesaving equipment. The company also provides contract manufacturing services. It serves construction and infrastructure, transport and logistics, railways, waste management and recycling, forestry, state institutions, offshore, wind, cruise, navy and coast guard, aquaculture and fisheries, and trade and transport industries. The company provides its products and services through a network of approximately 5,000 service centers in 130 countries; and 200 independent general importers. Palfinger AG was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Bergheim, Austria. Palfinger AG is a subsidiary of The Palfinger Family.

About Columbus McKinnon

Columbus McKinnon Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets motion solutions for moving, lifting, positioning, and securing materials worldwide. It offers manual, battery, electric, and air hoists; steel, rack, and pinion jacks; winches, hydraulic jacks and tools, trolleys and its clamps, and lifting tables; skates and heavy load moving systems; material handling equipment; mobile, workplace, and jib cranes; crane components and kits; and below-the-hook lifting devices, lifting slings, and lashing systems. The company also provides linear motion products, elevator and mining drives, brakes, radio controls, collision avoidance systems, regenerative drives, AC and DC drive and motor control systems, DC motor and magnet control systems, and conductor bar systems; and underfloor lifting systems, lifting jacks, roof working platforms, hybrid lifting systems, turntables, bogie axle exchange and lifting systems, bogie lift and turn devices, and workshop equipment. In addition, it offers fabric and modular belt, and sanitary, stainless steel conveyors; pallet systems; parts and belts; rotary unions and swivel joints; check valves; accumulation and transfer tables, motion control systems, and steel and flexible chains; hooks, shackles, textile slings, clamps, and load binders; actuators and rotary unions; and push button pendant stations, collision avoidance, and power delivery subsystems. It serves EV production and aerospace, energy and utilities, process industries, industrial automation, construction and infrastructure, food and beverage, entertainment, life sciences, consumer packaged goods, and e-commerce/supply chain/warehousing markets. It offers its products to end users directly, and through distributors, independent crane builders, material handling specialists and integrators, original equipment manufacturers, government agencies, and engineering procurement and construction firms. The company was founded in 1875 and is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.