AIT vs FERG vs NWPX Stock Comparison

Applied Industrial Technologies, Ferguson Enterprises and NWPX Infrastructure Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

NWPX Infrastructure leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (NWPX Infrastructure 6, Ferguson Enterprises 3, Applied Industrial Technologies 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAITFERGNWPXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.93B $44.80B $960.82M FERG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.9x 22.1x 18.0x NWPX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.3x 21.6x 19.2x NWPX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.5% +5.2% +15.9% NWPX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 8.4% 6.5% — AIT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 20.0% 21.7% — FERG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 1.0x — AIT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.66% 1.54% — FERG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.0% -6.6% +79.8% NWPX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.2%/yr +8.8%/yr +33.2%/yr NWPX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 27.8% 29.8% 39.9% AIT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 66/100 86/100 NWPX

Percentile Scorecard

AITFERGNWPX

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAITFERGNWPX
Valuation 22 #36 of 46 42 #27 of 46 90 #3 of 21
Growth 61 #16 of 39 76 #10 of 39 94 #2 of 19
Profitability 95 #3 of 39 87 #6 of 39 88 #3 of 17
Financial Health 91 #5 of 47 50 #24 of 47 71 #7 of 22
Shareholder Returns 77 #8 of 32 74 #9 of 32 –
Overall 69 66 86
  • AIT ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • FERG ranked among 49 companies in Distribution and Rental
  • NWPX ranked among 22 companies in Environmental Equipment

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAITFERGNWPXSPY
1 month -11.3%+1.5%-3.3% +0.9%
3 months -10.5%+2.0%-19.1% +5.9%
6 months +0.9%-9.9%+15.9% +8.5%
Year to date +16.5%+3.7%+59.5% +13.3%
1 year +16.0%-6.6%+79.8% +12.4%
3 years +98.5%+52.1%+263.6% +88.1%
3 years, per year +25.7%+15.0%+53.8% +23.5%
5 years +207.0%+52.6%+319.5% +68.2%
5 years, per year +25.2%+8.8%+33.2% +11.0%
10 years +495.5%+335.4%+659.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year +19.5%+15.9%+22.5% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureAITFERGNWPXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 27.8%29.8%39.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.1%30.9%34.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.791.131.30 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.58-0.222.00 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.5%-43.6%-35.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.4%-13.8%-33.5% -0.9%
52-week high $362.17$267.71$149.94 $779.14
52-week low $240.63$214.24$53.85 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAITFERGNWPX
P/E now vs peer median 25.9xmedian 25.6x 22.1xmedian 25.6x 18.0xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.1x 1.4xmedian 1.1x 1.6xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.6xmedian 13.3x 15.1xmedian 13.3x —median 19.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.9xmedian 22.0x 19.8xmedian 22.0x 12.4xmedian 23.0x
P/B now vs peer median 5.8xmedian 2.6x 7.6xmedian 2.6x 2.2xmedian 2.0x
PEG now vs peer median 3.58median 2.36 —median 2.36 0.55median 1.69

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAITFERGNWPX
Revenue $5.06B $31.35B $602.76M
Gross profit $1.54B $9.73B $125.97M
Operating income $564.03M $2.82B $71.15M
Net income $424.12M $2.03B $53.48M
Free cash flow $421.86M $2.26B –
EPS (diluted) $11.41 $10.42 $5.46
Cash & equivalents – $820.00M $6.06M
Total debt $282.30M $4.13B –
Shares (diluted) 37.18M 194.80M 9.79M
Enterprise value $10.82B $42.02B $960.82M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAITFERGNWPX
P/E 25.9x 22.1x 18.0x
P/FCF 25.9x 19.8x 12.4x
P/Operating cash flow 24.2x 17.1x 9.0x
P/S 2.2x 1.4x 1.6x
P/B 5.8x 7.6x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 6.9x 8.6x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA 17.6x 15.1x –
EV/EBIT 19.7x 17.1x –
EV/Revenue 2.2x 1.5x 1.6x
EV/FCF 26.3x 21.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow 24.6x 18.4x 9.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.58 – 0.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAITFERGNWPX
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.5% 5.2% 15.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.4% – 11.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.3% 7.5% 26.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.6% – 16.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.7% 17.6% 47.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 5.0% – 25.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 5.6% 31.6% 46.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.3% – 31.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 8.7% 34.4% 46.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.2% – 32.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.8% 35.9% 58.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.5% – 43.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -7.3% 42.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.5% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAITFERGNWPX
Gross margin 30.4% 31.0% –
EBITDA margin 12.4% 10.2% –
Operating margin 11.2% 9.0% –
Pretax margin 11.0% 8.3% –
Net margin 8.4% 6.5% –
FCF margin 8.3% 7.2% –
Operating cash flow margin 8.9% 8.3% 17.7%
Return on equity 22.6% 34.0% –
Return on assets 14.2% 11.4% –
Return on invested capital 20.0% 21.7% –
Return on capital employed 22.9% 23.4% –
Asset turnover 1.7x 1.8x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.3x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 0.3% 1.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAITFERGNWPX
Debt / assets 9.5% 23.2% –
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 1.0x –
Debt / FCF 0.7x 1.8x –
Liabilities / assets 36.8% 67.0% 37.0%
Equity / assets 63.2% 33.0% 63.0%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.9x 1.8x 2.6x
Quick ratio 1.7x 0.8x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 10.05 5.42 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAITFERGNWPX
Dividend yield 0.7% 1.5% –
Net buyback yield 3.1% 1.9% –
Shareholder yield 3.8% 3.4% –
Payout ratio (earnings) 17.4% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 17.5% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 10.6% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 11.1% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAITFERGNWPX
Forward P/E 23.3xFY2027 21.6xFY2026 19.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.83FY2027 $10.68FY2026 $5.19FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.2%FY2027 +7.4%FY2026 +45.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.8% +20.5% -7.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.91BFY2027 $34.30BFY2026 $573.90MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.1%FY2027 +11.5%FY2026 +9.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% -0.7% +3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAITFERGNWPX
Held by institutions 94.4% 96.3% 89.5%
Institutions holding 617 937 224
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.3% +2.1% +4.6%
Institutions buying 326 477 125
Institutions selling 207 343 65
Buyers to sellers 1.57 1.39 1.92

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AITFERGNWPX
AIT 1.00 0.54 0.38
FERG 0.54 1.00 0.32
NWPX 0.38 0.32 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AIT, FERG and NWPX?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) $10.93B, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) $44.80B, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) $960.82M.

Which stock is cheaper, AIT, FERG and NWPX?

NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 25.9x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 22.1x, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 18.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) is cheapest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 23.3x, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.6x, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 19.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +8.5%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +5.2%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +15.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) has the highest net margin (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 8.4%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 6.5%). On return on invested capital, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) leads (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 20.0%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 21.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) returned the most: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +16.0%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) -6.6%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +79.8%. Over five years, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) compounded fastest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) +25.2%/yr, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) +8.8%/yr, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) +33.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) has the highest dividend yield: Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 0.66%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 1.54%. NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) has been the steadiest (Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 27.8%, Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) 29.8%, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) 39.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AIT, FERG and NWPX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, NWPX Infrastructure (NWPX) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.