L.S. Starrett (NYSE:SCX) vs. RBC Bearings (NASDAQ:ROLL) Head to Head Review

L.S. Starrett (NYSE:SCX) and RBC Bearings (NASDAQ:ROLL) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

43.4% of L.S. Starrett shares are held by institutional investors. 7.0% of L.S. Starrett shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of RBC Bearings shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for L.S. Starrett and RBC Bearings, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
L.S. Starrett	0	0	0	0	N/A
RBC Bearings	0	0	0	0	N/A

Profitability

This table compares L.S. Starrett and RBC Bearings’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
L.S. Starrett	5.02%	2.44%	1.67%
RBC Bearings	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

L.S. Starrett has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RBC Bearings has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its share price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares L.S. Starrett and RBC Bearings’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
L.S. Starrett	$250.75 million	0.48	$23.09 million	$1.66	9.75
RBC Bearings	$1.14 billion	6.87	$59.60 million	$2.06	131.59

RBC Bearings has higher revenue and earnings than L.S. Starrett. L.S. Starrett is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RBC Bearings, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

RBC Bearings beats L.S. Starrett on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About L.S. Starrett

The L.S. Starrett Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells industrial, professional, and consumer measuring and cutting tools, and related products in North America, Brazil, and China. The company's products include precision tools, electronic gauges, gage blocks, optical vision and laser measuring equipment, custom engineered granite solutions, tape measures, levels, chalk products, squares, band saw blades, hole saws, hacksaw blades, jig saw blades, and reciprocating saw blades, as well as M1 lubricant and precision ground flat stock products. It also provides measuring tools, such as micrometers, vernier calipers, height distributors, depth gages, electronic gages, dial indicators, steel rules, combination squares, and custom and non-contact gaging such as vision, optical, and measurement systems. In addition, the company offers hand tools for measuring, marking, and layout that include tapes, levels, chalk lines, and other products for building trades, and construction and retail trades. It primarily distributes its precision hand tools, and saw and construction products through distributors or resellers. The company serves metalworking, wood, food, semi-conductor production, aerospace, medical, oil and gas, machinery, government, equipment, and automotive markets; marine and farm equipment shops, and DIY enthusiasts; and tradesmen, which comprise builders, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians. The L.S. Starrett Company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Athol, Massachusetts.

About RBC Bearings

RBC Bearings Incorporated manufactures and markets engineered precision bearings and components in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Aerospace/Defense and Industrial. The company produces plain bearings with self-lubricating or metal-to-metal designs, including rod end bearings, spherical plain bearings, and journal bearings; roller bearings, such as tapered roller bearings, needle roller bearings, and needle bearing track rollers and cam followers, which are anti-friction products that are used in industrial applications and military aircraft platforms; and ball bearings include high precision aerospace, airframe control, thin section, and industrial ball bearings that utilize high precision ball elements to reduce friction in high-speed applications. It also offers mounted bearing products include mounted ball bearings, mounted roller bearings, and mounted plain bearings; and enclosed gearing product lines, including quantis gearmotor, torque arm, tigear, magnagear & maxum, and controlled start transmission. In addition, the company produces power transmission components include mechanical drive components, couplings, and conveyor components; engineered hydraulics and valves for aircraft and submarine applications, and aerospace and defense aftermarket services; fasteners; precision mechanical components, which are used in various general industrial applications; and machine tool collets that are used for holding circulars or rod-like pieces. It serves automotive, tool holding, agricultural and semiconductor machinery, commercial and defense aerospace, ground defense, construction and mining, oil and natural resource extraction, heavy truck, marine, rail and train, packaging, food and beverage, packaging and canning, wind, and general industrial markets through its direct sales force, as well as a network of industrial and aerospace distributors. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Oxford, Connecticut.