MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) & TPI Composites (NASDAQ:TPIC) Head-To-Head Comparison

MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE:MSM) and TPI Composites (NASDAQ:TPIC) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.3% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.2% of TPI Composites shares are held by institutional investors. 18.3% of MSC Industrial Direct shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of TPI Composites shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for MSC Industrial Direct and TPI Composites, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MSC Industrial Direct	0	3	1	1	2.60
TPI Composites	2	4	1	0	1.86

MSC Industrial Direct presently has a consensus price target of $90.33, suggesting a potential downside of 2.10%. TPI Composites has a consensus price target of $1.73, suggesting a potential upside of 1,332.51%. Given TPI Composites’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe TPI Composites is more favorable than MSC Industrial Direct.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares MSC Industrial Direct and TPI Composites”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MSC Industrial Direct	$3.82 billion	1.34	$258.59 million	$3.54	26.07
TPI Composites	$1.33 billion	0.00	-$240.71 million	($4.26)	-0.03

MSC Industrial Direct has higher revenue and earnings than TPI Composites. TPI Composites is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MSC Industrial Direct, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

MSC Industrial Direct has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TPI Composites has a beta of 1.98, indicating that its share price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares MSC Industrial Direct and TPI Composites’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MSC Industrial Direct	5.30%	14.99%	8.39%
TPI Composites	-15.28%	N/A	-27.61%

Summary

MSC Industrial Direct beats TPI Composites on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MSC Industrial Direct

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc., together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies. It offers stock-keeping units through its catalogs and brochures; e-commerce channels, including its website, mscdirect.com; inventory management solutions; and customer care centers, customer fulfillment centers, regional inventory centers, and warehouses. The company serves individual machine shops, manufacturing companies, and government agencies. MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Melville, New York.

About TPI Composites

TPI Composites, Inc. manufactures and sells composite wind blades, and related precision molding and assembly systems to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the United States, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. It also provides composite solutions for the automotive industry; and field service inspection and repair services comprising diagnostic, repair, and maintenance services for wind blades to OEM customers, and wind farm owners and operators. The company was formerly known as LCSI Holding, Inc. and changed its name to TPI Composites, Inc. in 2008. TPI Composites, Inc. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.