Head to Head Review: BlueLinx (BXC) & The Competition

BlueLinx (NYSE:BXC) is one of 15 public companies in the “BLDG PRD – WOOD” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare BlueLinx to related businesses based on the strength of its profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for BlueLinx and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BlueLinx	0	0	4	0	3.00
BlueLinx Competitors	188	1156	1094	47	2.40

BlueLinx presently has a consensus target price of $110.00, indicating a potential upside of 35.54%. As a group, “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies have a potential upside of 20.60%. Given BlueLinx’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe BlueLinx is more favorable than its peers.

Volatility and Risk

BlueLinx has a beta of 1.9, suggesting that its stock price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BlueLinx’s peers have a beta of 1.43, suggesting that their average stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BlueLinx and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
BlueLinx	$2.95 billion	$53.12 million	18.11
BlueLinx Competitors	$4.92 billion	$297.37 million	-11.87

BlueLinx’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than BlueLinx. BlueLinx is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.8% of BlueLinx shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.9% of shares of all “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of BlueLinx shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of shares of all “BLDG PRD – WOOD” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares BlueLinx and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BlueLinx	1.31%	4.90%	1.98%
BlueLinx Competitors	7.65%	10.27%	6.04%

Summary

BlueLinx peers beat BlueLinx on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

BlueLinx Company Profile

BlueLinx Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of residential and commercial building products in the United States. It distributes specialty products, including engineered wood, siding, millwork, outdoor living, specialty lumber and panels, and industrial products; and structural products, such as lumber, plywood, oriented strand boards, rebars and remesh, as well as other wood products that are used for structural support in construction projects. It also provides various value-added services and solutions to customers and suppliers. The company serves national home centers, pro dealers, cooperatives, specialty distributors, regional and local dealers, and industrial manufacturers. BlueLinx Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Marietta, Georgia.