BELDEN INC. vs MUELLER INDUSTRIES INC, two Steel stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where BDC and MLI diverge most: on debt / equity, BDC reads 0.89 and MLI reads 0.00; on dividend yield, BDC reads 0.2% and MLI reads 0.8%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's BDC price has a different growth bar priced in than MLI (+13.0% implied for BDC vs +7.3% for MLI); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What BDC's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). What MLI's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | BDC | MLI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $123.85 | $66.46 |
| Market cap | $4.9B | $14.7B |
| Sector | Steel | Steel |
| Stage | Cyclical | Cyclical |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +13.0% | +7.3% |
| P/E | 20.1 | 17.3 |
| P/B | 3.51 | 4.11 |
| P/S | 1.70 | 3.15 |
| EV/EBITDA | 12.1 | 11.7 |
| Revenue growth | +9.4% | +14.2% |
| Gross margin | 39.1% | — |
| Operating margin | 13.2% | 21.7% |
| Net margin | 8.5% | 18.3% |
| Return on equity | 17.6% | 23.8% |
| Return on assets | 6.8% | 20.0% |
| Return on invested capital | 10.5% | 23.6% |
| FCF yield | 4.4% | 4.5% |
| Dividend yield | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.89 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 2.14 | 4.78 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.74 | 9.34 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 8 / 9 | 6 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.