DOV vs MIDD vs NDSN Stock Comparison

Dover, Middleby and Nordson Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DOV DOVER Corp
$206.21 +7.5% 1M +15.9% 1Y
Market cap
$27.94B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.58B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
3 wins
MIDD MIDDLEBY Corp
$115.00 +6.8% 1M -12.5% 1Y
Market cap
$5.14B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.35B
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
1 win
NDSN Nordson Corp
$324.30 -0.5% 1M +36.1% 1Y
Market cap
$18.10B
P/E
32.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.98B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Nordson leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Nordson 7, Dover 3, Middleby 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDOVMIDDNDSNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $27.94B $5.14B $18.10B DOV
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.0x -16.3x 32.6x DOV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.2x 16.2x 29.1x MIDD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.2% +7.0% +7.0% DOV
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — -9.4% 18.6% NDSN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 9.2% 13.1% NDSN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.8x 1.7x NDSN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +15.9% -12.5% +36.1% NDSN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.1%/yr -8.6%/yr +5.3%/yr NDSN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 24.9% 42.6% 22.2% NDSN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 40/100 37/100 57/100 NDSN

Percentile Scorecard

DOVMIDDNDSN

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

AxisDOVMIDDNDSN
Valuation 45 #113 of 203 57 #87 of 203 30 #142 of 203
Growth 45 #104 of 188 12 #166 of 188 55 #85 of 188
Profitability – 52 #89 of 183 96 #8 of 183
Financial Health – 28 #156 of 217 54 #101 of 217
Shareholder Returns 32 #105 of 153 – 51 #76 of 153
Overall 40 37 57
  • DOV ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MIDD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • NDSN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDOVMIDDNDSNSPY
1 month +7.5%+6.8%-0.5% -0.2%
3 months +1.6%-14.9%+7.2% +3.9%
6 months -8.0%-18.9%+15.1% +8.2%
Year to date +5.6%-22.6%+34.9% +12.9%
1 year +15.9%-12.5%+36.1% +12.3%
3 years +60.6%+2.6%+52.9% +87.4%
3 years, per year +17.1%+0.9%+15.2% +23.3%
5 years +22.0%-36.2%+29.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +4.1%-8.6%+5.3% +10.9%
10 years +278.2%+3.9%+225.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +14.2%+0.4%+12.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureDOVMIDDNDSNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 24.9%42.6%22.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.2%47.7%21.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.931.190.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.64-0.291.62 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.3%-48.6%-39.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.6%-35.8%-3.1% -1.2%
52-week high $233.31$179.20$334.70 $779.14
52-week low $177.96$102.69$226.69 $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.

MultipleDOVMIDDNDSN
P/E now vs peer median 23.8xmedian 25.2x -16.5xmedian 25.2x 32.5xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 1.9x 1.6xmedian 1.9x 6.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.0x 10.6xmedian 14.0x 21.2xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.7xmedian 21.7x —median 21.7x 24.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median —median 2.3x 2.4xmedian 2.3x 5.5xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 4.18median 1.32 0.40median 1.32 7.39median 1.32

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 monthsDOVMIDDNDSN
Revenue $8.58B $3.35B $2.98B
Gross profit $3.40B $1.29B $1.65B
Operating income – $574.47M $800.96M
Net income – -$315.27M $555.18M
Free cash flow – – $724.01M
EPS (diluted) $8.60 $-6.95 $9.91
Cash & equivalents – $159.18M $113.43M
Total debt – $8.60B $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 135.55M 45.34M 56.03M
Enterprise value $27.94B $4.07B $17.65B

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
MetricDOVMIDDNDSN
P/E 23.8x -16.5x 32.5x
P/FCF 21.7x – 24.9x
P/Operating cash flow 19.7x – 23.4x
P/S 3.2x 1.6x 6.1x
P/B – 2.4x 5.5x
P/Tangible book – 4.4x 6.8x
EV/EBITDA – 10.6x 21.2x
EV/EBIT – 12.2x 24.6x
EV/Revenue 3.2x 2.1x 6.6x
EV/FCF – – 27.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.7x – 25.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.18 0.40 7.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDOVMIDDNDSN
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.2% 7.0% 7.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.1% -6.3% 4.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.3% 4.2% 8.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.1% -5.4% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) – -7.3% 18.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -6.2% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) – -174.2% 22.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -39.2% 3.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -47.2% -187.0% 23.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 5.7% -41.4% 4.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.3% – 26.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 12.1% – 5.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – – 33.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 5.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDOVMIDDNDSN
Gross margin – 38.7% 55.3%
EBITDA margin – 19.7% 31.2%
Operating margin – 17.2% 26.9%
Pretax margin – 14.4% 22.6%
Net margin – -9.4% 18.6%
FCF margin – – 24.3%
Operating cash flow margin 16.4% – 26.0%
Return on equity – -12.6% 17.2%
Return on assets – -5.4% 9.3%
Return on invested capital – 9.2% 13.1%
Return on capital employed – 11.5% 15.3%
Asset turnover – 0.6x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – – 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDOVMIDDNDSN
Debt / assets – 36.9% 29.1%
Debt / equity – 0.9x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.8x 1.7x
Debt / FCF – – 2.4x
Liabilities / assets – 58.8% 45.0%
Equity / assets – 41.2% 55.0%
Interest coverage – 5.6x 8.8x
Current ratio – 2.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio – 1.0x 1.0x
Cash ratio – 0.2x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 3.21 6.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDOVMIDDNDSN
Dividend yield 1.0% – 1.0%
Net buyback yield – – 1.1%
Shareholder yield 1.0% 0.0% 2.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 33.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 25.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 7.2%

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.

ConsensusDOVMIDDNDSN
Forward P/E 20.2xFY2026 16.2xFY2026 29.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.22FY2026 $7.12FY2026 $11.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +6.3%FY2026 +5.5%FY2026 +8.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.4% +15.7% +21.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.16BFY2026 $2.66BFY2026 $3.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.8%FY2026 -16.9%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.8% +0.8% +5.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDOVMIDDNDSN
Held by institutions 91.1% 91.7% 76.0%
Institutions holding 1,163 452 755
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.3% -1.4% +3.1%
Institutions buying 500 205 389
Institutions selling 405 172 240
Buyers to sellers 1.23 1.19 1.62

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.

DOVMIDDNDSN
DOV 1.00 0.36 0.58
MIDD 0.36 1.00 0.42
NDSN 0.58 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DOV, MIDD and NDSN?

Dover (DOV) is the largest by market capitalisation: Dover (DOV) $27.94B, Middleby (MIDD) $5.14B, Nordson (NDSN) $18.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, DOV, MIDD and NDSN?

Dover (DOV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Dover (DOV) 24.0x, Middleby (MIDD) -16.3x, Nordson (NDSN) 32.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Middleby (MIDD) is cheapest (Dover (DOV) 20.2x, Middleby (MIDD) 16.2x, Nordson (NDSN) 29.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Dover (DOV) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Dover (DOV) +8.2%, Middleby (MIDD) +7.0%, Nordson (NDSN) +7.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nordson (NDSN) has the highest net margin (Middleby (MIDD) -9.4%, Nordson (NDSN) 18.6%). On return on invested capital, Nordson (NDSN) leads (Middleby (MIDD) 9.2%, Nordson (NDSN) 13.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nordson (NDSN) returned the most: Dover (DOV) +15.9%, Middleby (MIDD) -12.5%, Nordson (NDSN) +36.1%. Over five years, Nordson (NDSN) compounded fastest (Dover (DOV) +4.1%/yr, Middleby (MIDD) -8.6%/yr, Nordson (NDSN) +5.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Dover (DOV) 0.00%, Middleby (MIDD) 0.00%, Nordson (NDSN) 0.01%. Dover (DOV) and Middleby (MIDD) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nordson (NDSN) has been the steadiest (Dover (DOV) 24.9%, Middleby (MIDD) 42.6%, Nordson (NDSN) 22.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DOV, MIDD and NDSN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Nordson (NDSN) leads on 7. 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.