Head-To-Head Analysis: Core & Main (CNM) and Its Peers

Core & Main (NYSE:CNM) is one of 158 publicly-traded companies in the “Trading Companies & Distributors” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Core & Main to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Core & Main and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Core & Main	0	5	7	0	2.58
Core & Main Competitors	1411	4861	6650	218	2.43

Core & Main presently has a consensus target price of $56.70, suggesting a potential upside of 25.44%. As a group, “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies have a potential upside of 8.68%. Given Core & Main’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Core & Main is more favorable than its competitors.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.2% of Core & Main shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.9% of shares of all “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Core & Main shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.9% of shares of all “Trading Companies & Distributors” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Core & Main has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Core & Main’s competitors have a beta of 1.27, indicating that their average stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Core & Main and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Core & Main	5.87%	26.17%	8.58%
Core & Main Competitors	0.68%	-34.57%	3.12%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Core & Main and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Core & Main	$7.65 billion	$441.00 million	19.15
Core & Main Competitors	$6.55 billion	$363.90 million	23.87

Core & Main has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Core & Main is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Core & Main beats its competitors on 9 of the 13 factors compared.

Core & Main Company Profile

Core & Main, Inc. is a specialty distributor focused on water, wastewater, storm drainage and fire protection products, and related services. The company provides infrastructure solutions to municipalities, private water companies and professional contractors across municipal, non-residential, and residential end markets, nationwide. The company was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in St. Louis, MO.