AZZ vs HLP vs ACA Stock Comparison

Azz, Hongli and Arcosa Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AZZ Azz Inc
$131.90 -5.1% 1M +31.6% 1Y
Market cap
$3.87B
P/E
23.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.75B
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
4 wins
HLP Hongli Group Inc.
$2.93 +18.6% 1M +91.5% 1Y
Market cap
$246.02M
P/E
110.8x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
1 win
ACA Arcosa, Inc.
$149.18 +1.7% 1M +61.6% 1Y
Market cap
$7.33B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.74B
Div. yield
0.13%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Arcosa leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Arcosa 6, Azz 4, Hongli 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAZZHLPACALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.87B $246.02M $7.33B ACA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.1x 110.8x 14.9x ACA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.9x — 33.6x AZZ
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.5% — +9.7% ACA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.6% — 17.9% ACA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.4% — 6.5% AZZ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x — 1.8x AZZ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.13% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +31.6% +91.5% +61.6% HLP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +18.2%/yr — +23.0%/yr ACA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.5% 123.6% 31.7% ACA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 — 57/100 AZZ

Percentile Scorecard

AZZHLPACA

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

AxisAZZHLPACA
Valuation 80 #42 of 204 13 #178 of 204 50 #102 of 204
Growth 61 #76 of 191 – 83 #34 of 191
Profitability 72 #54 of 189 – 51 #93 of 189
Financial Health 55 #100 of 221 54 #102 of 221 59 #92 of 221
Shareholder Returns 23 #123 of 159 – 43 #91 of 159
Overall 58 – 57
  • AZZ ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • HLP ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • ACA ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAZZHLPACASPY
1 month -5.1%+18.6%+1.7% -1.0%
3 months -13.2%+123.7%+2.9% -0.4%
6 months -9.9%+222.0%+24.1% +4.5%
Year to date +23.1%+181.7%+40.3% +12.4%
1 year +31.6%+91.5%+61.6% +13.6%
3 years +175.3%+24.2%+117.4% +76.4%
3 years, per year +40.2%+7.5%+29.6% +20.8%
5 years +131.0%—+181.9% +63.7%
5 years, per year +18.2%—+23.0% +10.4%
10 years +150.5%—— +267.7%
10 years, per year +9.6%—— +13.9%

Risk

MeasureAZZHLPACASPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.5%123.6%31.7% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.1%138.9%32.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.11-0.150.95 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.970.741.94 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.8%-91.9%-36.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.6%-30.1%0.0% -1.6%
52-week high $160.17$4.19$149.18 $779.14
52-week low $97.64$0.43$92.25 $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.

MultipleAZZHLPACA
P/E now vs peer median 23.6xmedian 25.5x 110.8xmedian 25.5x 14.9xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 1.9x 11.0xmedian 1.9x 2.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.6xmedian 14.4x —median 14.4x 15.2xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.4xmedian 23.3x -490.2xmedian 23.3x 54.9xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 2.2x 3.7xmedian 2.2x 2.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.27median 1.16 —median 1.16 0.75median 1.16

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 monthsAZZHLPACA
Revenue $1.75B – $2.74B
Gross profit $423.83M – $632.30M
Operating income $287.42M – $322.70M
Net income $167.46M – $491.40M
Free cash flow $214.45M – $133.40M
EPS (diluted) $5.56 – $9.99
Cash & equivalents $1.95M $1.81M $432.10M
Total debt $468.47M $11.52M $1.44B
Shares (diluted) 30.12M 73.44M 49.20M
Enterprise value $3.86B $241.45M $6.31B

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
MetricAZZHLPACA
P/E 23.6x 110.8x 14.9x
P/FCF 18.4x -490.2x 54.9x
P/Operating cash flow 13.5x – 21.5x
P/S 2.3x 11.0x 2.7x
P/B 2.8x 3.7x 2.5x
P/Tangible book 4.0x 4.0x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 11.6x – 15.2x
EV/EBIT 15.4x – 25.8x
EV/Revenue 2.5x – 3.0x
EV/FCF 20.6x – 62.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.1x – 24.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.27 – 0.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZZHLPACA
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.5% – 9.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% – 7.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.0% – 20.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.9% – 14.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.3% – 61.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.4% – -5.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -46.7% – 433.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 99.0% – 20.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -46.5% – 430.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 87.1% – 19.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -42.0% – -23.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.3% – 16.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -47.3% – -54.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 35.3% – 54.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAZZHLPACA
Gross margin 24.3% – 23.0%
EBITDA margin 21.8% – 19.9%
Operating margin 16.5% – 11.8%
Pretax margin 12.9% – 8.4%
Net margin 9.6% – 17.9%
FCF margin 12.3% – 4.9%
Operating cash flow margin 16.7% – 12.4%
Return on equity 12.0% – 17.4%
Return on assets 7.3% – 9.5%
Return on invested capital 11.4% – 6.5%
Return on capital employed 14.1% – 6.9%
Asset turnover 0.8x – 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x – 0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% – 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZZHLPACA
Debt / assets 20.0% 16.0% 27.1%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.2x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x – 1.8x
Debt / FCF 2.2x – 10.8x
Liabilities / assets 39.5% 19.9% 43.7%
Equity / assets 60.5% 80.1% 56.3%
Interest coverage 6.3x – 3.3x
Current ratio 1.8x 1.1x 3.1x
Quick ratio 0.8x 0.8x 2.2x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.1x 1.0x
Altman Z-score 4.41 – 3.18

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZZHLPACA
Dividend yield 0.7% – 0.1%
Net buyback yield – – 0.2%
Shareholder yield 0.7% – 0.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 2.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 7.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 1.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 1.0%

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.

ConsensusAZZHLPACA
Forward P/E 17.9xFY2026 – 33.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.37FY2026 – $4.44FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.1%FY2026 – -0.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +12.1% – +7.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.97BFY2026 – $2.45BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.4%FY2026 – -14.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -8.1% – +12.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZZHLPACA
Held by institutions 94.6% – 91.8%
Institutions holding 364 – 428
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% – -1.1%
Institutions buying 196 – 230
Institutions selling 119 – 114
Buyers to sellers 1.65 – 2.02

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.

AZZHLPACA
AZZ 1.00 -0.05 0.41
HLP -0.05 1.00 -0.03
ACA 0.41 -0.03 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZZ, HLP and ACA?

Arcosa (ACA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Azz (AZZ) $3.87B, Hongli (HLP) $246.02M, Arcosa (ACA) $7.33B.

Which stock is cheaper, AZZ, HLP and ACA?

Arcosa (ACA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Azz (AZZ) 23.1x, Hongli (HLP) 110.8x, Arcosa (ACA) 14.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Azz (AZZ) is cheapest (Azz (AZZ) 17.9x, Arcosa (ACA) 33.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Arcosa (ACA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Azz (AZZ) +9.5%, Arcosa (ACA) +9.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Arcosa (ACA) has the highest net margin (Azz (AZZ) 9.6%, Arcosa (ACA) 17.9%). On return on invested capital, Azz (AZZ) leads (Azz (AZZ) 11.4%, Arcosa (ACA) 6.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Hongli (HLP) returned the most: Azz (AZZ) +31.6%, Hongli (HLP) +91.5%, Arcosa (ACA) +61.6%. Over five years, Arcosa (ACA) compounded fastest (Azz (AZZ) +18.2%/yr, Arcosa (ACA) +23.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Azz (AZZ) 0.00%, Hongli (HLP) 0.00%, Arcosa (ACA) 0.13%. Azz (AZZ) and Hongli (HLP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Arcosa (ACA) has been the steadiest (Azz (AZZ) 32.5%, Hongli (HLP) 123.6%, Arcosa (ACA) 31.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AZZ, HLP and ACA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Arcosa (ACA) 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.