Posted on December 11, 2018
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (NASDAQ:GLDD) and Williams Industrial Services Group (OTCMKTS:WLMS) are both small-cap construction companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock currently has a consensus target price of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.81%. Given Great Lakes Dredge & Dock’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Great Lakes Dredge & Dock is more favorable than Williams Industrial Services Group.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
76.1% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.9% of Williams Industrial Services Group shares are held by institutional investors. 9.1% of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.5% of Williams Industrial Services Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility and Risk
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Williams Industrial Services Group has a beta of 2.08, meaning that its share price is 108% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock beats Williams Industrial Services Group on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Great Lakes Dredge & Dock
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation provides dredging services in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Dredging, and Environmental & Infrastructure. The Dredging segment is involved in capital dredging that consists of port expansion projects, coastal restoration and land reclamations, trench digging for pipelines, tunnels and cables, and other dredging related to the construction of breakwaters, jetties, canals, and other marine structures. This segment also engages in channel deepening and port infrastructure development; coastal protection projects; re-dredging previously deepened waterways and harbors; and lake and river dredging, inland levee and construction dredging, environmental restoration and habitat improvement, and other marine construction projects. It serves federal, state, and local governments; foreign governments; and domestic and foreign private concerns, such as utilities, oil, and other energy companies. The Environmental & Infrastructure segment provides environmental and geotechnical construction services, including the creation, repair, or stabilization of environmental barriers; and remediation services comprising the containment, immobilization, or removal of contamination from an environment. It serves general contractors, corporations, superfund potentially responsible parties, and environmental engineering and construction firms, as well as federal and municipal government agencies. The company operates a fleet of 20 dredges, 16 material transportation barges, 1 drillboat, and various other support vessels. The company was formerly known as Lydon & Drews Partnership and changed its name to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation in 1905. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation was founded in 1890 and is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois.
About Williams Industrial Services Group
Williams Industrial Services Group Inc. provides general and specialty construction, maintenance and modification, and plant management support services to the nuclear, hydro and fossil power generation, pulp and paper, refining, petrochemical, and other process and manufacturing industries. The company offers nuclear power plant maintenance, modification, and construction services; maintenance, repair, and capital project services for other industrial and power generation facilities, including paper, fossil fuel, industrial gas, hydro power, and natural gas; and repair, modifications, maintenance, and builds services for municipal water and wastewater facilities. It also provides cleaning, surface preparation, coatings application, quality control, and inspection testing services for nuclear and fossil fuel power plants, industrial facilities, and petrochemical plants; industrial insulation services for power generation installations; and abatement services for the removal of asbestos and heavy metal based coatings, such as lead paint. In addition, the company replaces, repairs, and upgrades industrial facility roofing systems at pulp and paper manufacturing facilities and nuclear power plants; offers oil and gas modifications and construction services; engages in the conversion of analog control systems to digital controls; and provides nuclear decommissioning services. It markets its services in the United States through sales and marketing personnel, as well as its on-site operations personnel. The company was formerly known as Global Power Equipment Group Inc. and changed its name to Williams Industrial Services Group Inc. in June 2018. Williams Industrial Services Group Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Tucker, Georgia.
Source: Bharata Press
