Head to Head Survey: Melrose Industries (OTCMKTS:MLSPF) vs. Crane (NYSE:CR)

Melrose Industries (OTCMKTS:MLSPF) and Crane (NYSE:CR) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Melrose Industries and Crane”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Melrose Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.53	10.84
Crane	$2.21 billion	4.09	$401.10 million	$3.73	42.34

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Melrose Industries and Crane, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Melrose Industries	0	0	0	0	N/A
Crane	0	1	6	0	2.86

Crane has a consensus target price of $156.17, indicating a potential downside of 1.20%. Given Crane’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Crane is more favorable than Melrose Industries.

Dividends

Melrose Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Crane pays an annual dividend of $0.82 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Melrose Industries pays out 15.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Crane pays out 22.0% 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. Melrose Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Melrose Industries and Crane’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Melrose Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A
Crane	13.10%	24.45%	10.14%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

47.0% of Melrose Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.1% of Crane shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Crane shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Crane beats Melrose Industries on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Melrose Industries

Melrose Industries PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the aerospace, automotive, powder metallurgy, and other industrial businesses in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, North America, and internationally. Its Aerospace segment provides airframe and engine structures, and electrical interconnection systems for the aerospace industry in civil airframe and defense platforms. The company's Automotive segment designs, develops, manufactures, and integrates driveline technologies, including electric vehicle components. Its Powder Metallurgy segment offers precision powder metal parts for the automotive and industrial sectors; and metal powder for powder metallurgy, as well as commercializes additive manufacturing. The company's Other Industrial segment designs, manufactures, and distributes ergonomic products for use in a various working, learning, and healthcare environments; and offers metal hydride hydrogen storage solutions for use in a range of industrial and commercial applications. The company was formerly known as New Melrose Industries PLC and changed its name to Melrose Industries PLC in November 2015. Melrose Industries PLC was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Crane

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials. The Aerospace & Electronics segment supplies critical components and systems, including original equipment and aftermarket parts for commercial aerospace, as well as the military aerospace, defense, and space markets. This segment also offers pressure sensors for aircraft engine control, aircraft braking systems for commercial aircraft and fighter jets, power conversion solutions for spacecraft, and lubrication systems. The Process Flow Technologies segment provides engineered fluid handling equipment for mission-critical applications. It offers process valves and related products, such as lined pipe, fittings and hoses, air-operated diaphragm and peristaltic pumps, instrumentation and sampling systems, valve positioning and control systems, and valve diagnostic and calibration systems; commercial valves; and pumps and systems. The Engineered Materials segment manufactures fiberglass-reinforced plastic panels and coils for use in the manufacturing of recreational vehicles, as well as in commercial and industrial building applications. This segment sells directly to RV, trailer, and truck manufacturers, as well as through distributors and retailers. The company provides its products and solutions to end markets, including commercial and military aerospace, defense, and space; chemical and pharmaceutical production; water and wastewater; non-residential and municipal construction; energy; and other general industrial and consumer-related applications. The company was formerly known as Crane Holdings, Co. Crane Company was founded in 1855 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.