Critical Comparison: Matrix Service (NASDAQ:MTRX) and Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX)

Matrix Service (NASDAQ:MTRX) and Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Matrix Service and Comfort Systems USA, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Matrix Service	1	0	1	1	2.67
Comfort Systems USA	0	2	8	0	2.80

Matrix Service currently has a consensus target price of $16.50, indicating a potential upside of 66.75%. Comfort Systems USA has a consensus target price of $1,916.14, indicating a potential upside of 42.27%. Given Matrix Service’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Matrix Service is more favorable than Comfort Systems USA.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.4% of Matrix Service shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.5% of Comfort Systems USA shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Matrix Service shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Comfort Systems USA shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Matrix Service and Comfort Systems USA”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Matrix Service	$873.63 million	0.32	-$2.58 million	($0.09)	-109.94
Comfort Systems USA	$12.54 billion	3.76	$1.02 billion	$46.32	29.08

Comfort Systems USA has higher revenue and earnings than Matrix Service. Matrix Service is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Comfort Systems USA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Matrix Service has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Comfort Systems USA has a beta of 1.66, indicating that its share price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Matrix Service and Comfort Systems USA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Matrix Service	-0.30%	5.32%	1.20%
Comfort Systems USA	13.01%	55.24%	20.61%

Summary

Comfort Systems USA beats Matrix Service on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Matrix Service

Matrix Service Company provides engineering, fabrication, construction, and maintenance services to support critical energy infrastructure and industrial markets in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Utility and Power Infrastructure; Process and Industrial Facilities; and Storage and Terminal Solutions. The Utility and Power Infrastructure segment offers power delivery services, including construction of new substations, upgrades of existing substations, transmission and distribution line installations, and upgrades and maintenance, and emergency and storm restoration services. This segment also provides engineering, fabrication, and construction services for LNG utility peak shaving facilities; and construction and maintenance services to power generation facilities, including natural gas fired facilities. The Process and Industrial Facilities segment engages in the refining and processing of crude oil; fractionating and marketing of natural, gas and natural gas liquids; and offers plant maintenance, turnarounds, engineering, industrial cleaning services, and capital construction services. The Storage and Terminal Solutions segment undertakes work related to aboveground crude oil and refined product storage tanks and terminals; engineering, procurement, fabrication, and construction services related to cryogenic and other specialty tanks and terminals for LNG, NGLs, hydrogen, ammonia, propane, butane, liquid nitrogen/liquid oxygen, and liquid petroleum; and provides plant work, truck and rail loading/offloading facilities, and marine structures, as well as storage tank and terminal maintenance and repair. This segment also manufactures and sells precision engineered specialty tank products, including geodesic domes, aluminum internal floating roofs, floating suction and skimmer systems, roof drain systems, and floating roof seals. Matrix Service Company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

About Comfort Systems USA

Comfort Systems USA, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides mechanical and electrical installation, renovation, maintenance, repair, and replacement services for the mechanical and electrical services industry in the United States. It operates through two segments, Mechanical and Electrical. The company offers heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, as well as plumbing, electrical, piping and controls, off-site construction, monitoring, and fire protection. It also engages in the design, engineering, integration, installation, and start-up of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) and related systems in new buildings; and renovation, expansion, maintenance, monitoring, repair, and replacement of MEP systems in existing buildings. In addition, the company provides remote monitoring of power usage, temperature, pressure, humidity and air flow for MEP and other building systems. It serves building owners and developers, general contractors, architects, consulting engineers, and property managers in the commercial, industrial, and institutional MEP markets. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.