AZZ vs IIIN vs OPTX Stock Comparison

Azz, Insteel Industries and Syntec Optics Holdings Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AZZ Azz Inc
$122.24 -13.8% 1M +18.0% 1Y
Market cap
$3.79B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.75B
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
5 wins
IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$27.00 -10.5% 1M -15.7% 1Y
Market cap
$525.46M
P/E
17.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
0.04%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Azz leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Azz 5, Insteel Industries 3, Syntec Optics Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAZZIIINOPTXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.79B $525.46M $162.65M AZZ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.6x 17.8x -67.4x IIIN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.6x 13.2x — IIIN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.5% +14.2% +1.5% IIIN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.6% 4.0% -8.3% AZZ
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.4% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x — -11.7x OPTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.04% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +18.0% -15.7% +59.1% OPTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.5%/yr -8.8%/yr — AZZ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.2% 42.1% 138.9% AZZ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 56/100 30/100 AZZ

Percentile Scorecard

AZZIIINOPTX

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

AxisAZZIIINOPTX
Valuation 80 #41 of 204 90 #21 of 204 5 #193 of 204
Growth 62 #74 of 191 31 #132 of 191 5 #181 of 191
Profitability 72 #54 of 189 45 #105 of 189 16 #159 of 189
Financial Health 55 #101 of 221 89 #25 of 221 95 #12 of 221
Shareholder Returns 22 #124 of 159 26 #118 of 159 –
Overall 58 56 30
  • AZZ ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • IIIN ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • OPTX ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAZZIIINOPTXSPY
1 month -13.8%-10.5%-61.6% -5.9%
3 months -19.0%-16.5%-49.1% -4.6%
6 months -15.2%-0.4%-46.5% +0.2%
Year to date +14.1%-14.7%+31.8% +7.5%
1 year +18.0%-15.7%+59.1% +8.2%
3 years +155.7%-10.4%-52.5% +68.3%
3 years, per year +36.8%-3.6%-22.0% +19.0%
5 years +114.1%-37.0%— +56.5%
5 years, per year +16.5%-8.8%— +9.4%
10 years +132.2%+1.8%— +251.5%
10 years, per year +8.8%+0.2%— +13.4%

Risk

MeasureAZZIIINOPTXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.2%42.1%138.9% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.9%52.0%120.4% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.171.053.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.54-0.370.43 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -46.8%-49.9%-93.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.7%-29.2%-73.3% -5.9%
52-week high $160.17$38.11$14.11 $779.14
52-week low $97.64$24.48$1.25 $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.

MultipleAZZIIINOPTX
P/E now vs peer median 21.9xmedian 23.4x 17.8xmedian 23.4x -61.2xmedian 23.4x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 1.7x 0.7xmedian 1.7x 5.2xmedian 1.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.8xmedian 13.4x 8.8xmedian 13.4x 145.4xmedian 13.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 21.9x 21.0xmedian 21.9x -372.2xmedian 21.9x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 2.1x 1.4xmedian 2.1x 5.0xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 0.25median 1.02 -5.99median 1.02 1.21median 1.02

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 monthsAZZIIINOPTX
Revenue $1.75B $739.51M $29.24M
Gross profit $423.83M $75.68M $5.73M
Operating income $287.42M $37.57M -$1.35M
Net income $167.46M $29.55M -$2.41M
Free cash flow $214.45M $24.84M -$407.99K
EPS (diluted) $5.56 $1.51 $-0.06
Cash & equivalents $1.95M $37.48M $14.05M
Total debt $468.47M – $2.76M
Shares (diluted) 30.12M 19.52M 39.19M
Enterprise value $3.79B $434.36M $147.05M

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
MetricAZZIIINOPTX
P/E 21.9x 17.8x -61.2x
P/FCF 17.1x 21.0x -372.2x
P/Operating cash flow 12.5x 14.3x 216.3x
P/S 2.1x 0.7x 5.2x
P/B 2.6x 1.4x 5.0x
P/Tangible book 3.7x 1.4x 5.0x
EV/EBITDA 10.8x 8.8x 145.4x
EV/EBIT 14.3x 12.9x -103.8x
EV/Revenue 2.4x 0.7x 4.8x
EV/FCF 19.2x 19.5x -344.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.1x 13.2x 200.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.25 -5.99 1.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAZZIIINOPTX
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.5% 14.2% 1.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 4.4% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.0% -19.0% -14.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 8.9% 5.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.3% -27.9% -43.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.4% 2.7% -56.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -46.7% -28.0% -53.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 99.0% -3.0% -52.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -46.5% -27.8% -44.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 87.1% -3.0% -50.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -42.0% 34.8% -40.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.3% -36.4% -37.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -47.3% 31.1% -0.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 35.3% -39.4% -30.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAZZIIINOPTX
Gross margin 24.3% 10.2% 19.6%
EBITDA margin 21.8% 7.5% 3.3%
Operating margin 16.5% 5.1% -4.6%
Pretax margin 12.9% 5.2% -6.8%
Net margin 9.6% 4.0% -8.3%
FCF margin 12.3% 3.4% -1.4%
Operating cash flow margin 16.7% 5.0% 2.4%
Return on equity 12.0% 7.9% -12.3%
Return on assets 7.3% 6.2% -7.7%
Return on invested capital 11.4% – –
Return on capital employed 14.1% 9.4% -5.2%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.5x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.7x 1.2x -0.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAZZIIINOPTX
Debt / assets 20.0% – 7.1%
Debt / equity 0.3x – 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.2x – -11.7x
Debt / FCF 2.2x – -6.8x
Liabilities / assets 39.5% 21.0% 21.5%
Equity / assets 60.5% 79.0% 78.5%
Interest coverage 6.3x 596.3x –
Current ratio 1.8x 3.7x 6.0x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.6x 4.3x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.5x 2.8x
Altman Z-score 4.22 6.21 12.52

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAZZIIINOPTX
Dividend yield 0.7% 4.1% –
Net buyback yield – 0.6% –
Shareholder yield 0.7% 4.8% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – 73.5% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 87.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – -0.2% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -19.2% –

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.

ConsensusAZZIIINOPTX
Forward P/E 16.6xFY2026 13.2xFY2027 –
EPS, next fiscal year $7.37FY2026 $2.05FY2027 –
EPS growth, next FY +19.1%FY2026 +35.8%FY2027 –
EPS growth, the year after +12.1% +7.8% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.97BFY2026 $759.46MFY2027 –
Revenue growth, next FY +19.4%FY2026 +2.7%FY2027 –
Revenue growth, the year after -8.1% +4.4% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAZZIIINOPTX
Held by institutions 94.6% 82.1% 12.3%
Institutions holding 364 187 62
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% +0.9% +244.7%
Institutions buying 196 122 51
Institutions selling 119 48 8
Buyers to sellers 1.65 2.54 6.38

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.

AZZIIINOPTX
AZZ 1.00 0.38 0.30
IIIN 0.38 1.00 0.22
OPTX 0.30 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AZZ, IIIN and OPTX?

Azz (AZZ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Azz (AZZ) $3.79B, Insteel Industries (IIIN) $525.46M, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) $162.65M.

Which stock is cheaper, AZZ, IIIN and OPTX?

Insteel Industries (IIIN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Azz (AZZ) 22.6x, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 17.8x, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -67.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Insteel Industries (IIIN) is cheapest (Azz (AZZ) 16.6x, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 13.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Insteel Industries (IIIN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Azz (AZZ) +9.5%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) +14.2%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +1.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Azz (AZZ) has the highest net margin (Azz (AZZ) 9.6%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 4.0%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -8.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) returned the most: Azz (AZZ) +18.0%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -15.7%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +59.1%. Over five years, Azz (AZZ) compounded fastest (Azz (AZZ) +16.5%/yr, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -8.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Azz (AZZ) 0.00%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 0.04%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 0.00%. Azz (AZZ) and Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Azz (AZZ) has been the steadiest (Azz (AZZ) 33.2%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 42.1%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 138.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AZZ, IIIN and OPTX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Azz (AZZ) leads on 5. 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.