Critical Review: Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) vs. Travis Perkins (OTCMKTS:TPRKY)

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) and Travis Perkins (OTCMKTS:TPRKY) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Lowe’s Companies has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Travis Perkins has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Lowe’s Companies and Travis Perkins, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lowe’s Companies	0	10	15	0	2.60
Travis Perkins	0	0	0	0	0.00

Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus target price of $273.84, indicating a potential upside of 1.48%. Given Lowe’s Companies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Lowe’s Companies is more favorable than Travis Perkins.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

74.1% of Lowe’s Companies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Lowe’s Companies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Lowe’s Companies and Travis Perkins’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lowe’s Companies	8.25%	-47.07%	15.79%
Travis Perkins	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lowe’s Companies and Travis Perkins”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lowe’s Companies	$84.02 billion	1.82	$7.73 billion	$12.06	22.37
Travis Perkins	$6.05 billion	0.43	$47.39 million	N/A	N/A

Lowe’s Companies has higher revenue and earnings than Travis Perkins.

Summary

Lowe’s Companies beats Travis Perkins on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lowe’s Companies

Lowe’s Companies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States. The company offers a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. It also provides home improvement products, such as appliances, seasonal and outdoor living, lawn and garden, lumber, kitchens and bath, tools, paint, millwork, hardware, flooring, rough plumbing, building materials, décor, and electrical. In addition, the company offers installation services through independent contractors in various product categories; and extended protection plans and repair services. It sells its national brand-name merchandise and private brand products to professional customers, homeowners, renters, businesses, and government. The company also sells its products through Lowes.com website; and through mobile applications. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. was founded in 1921 and is based in Mooresville, North Carolina.

About Travis Perkins

Travis Perkins plc engages in distribution of building material products in the United Kingdom. It operates through Merchanting and Toolstation segments. The company offers tools and building supplies. It also distributes pipeline products, as well as supplies managed services, and commercial and industrial heating and cooling solutions. In addition, the company provides in specialist civils and drainage solutions; and air-conditioning and refrigeration products and heat pumps. Further, it provides insulation and interior building products to interior building specialists, contractors, and builders; and kitchens and joinery products. Additionally, the company manufactures and supplies staircases, i-joists, precision floor kits, painted MDF profiles, and door kits/sets. The company markets its products under Travis Perkins, Toolstation, BSS, Keyline, and CCF brands. It sells its products through branches and distribution centres, as well as online. Travis Perkins plc was founded in 1797 and is headquartered in Northampton, the United Kingdom.