HLP vs LXFR vs AZZ Stock Comparison

Hongli, Luxfer Holdings and Azz Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HLP Hongli Group Inc.
$4.19 +75.3% 1M +173.9% 1Y
Market cap
$307.71M
P/E
158.4x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
1 win
LXFR Luxfer Holdings Plc
$17.25 -0.2% 1M +30.2% 1Y
Market cap
$461.61M
P/E
74.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$355.20M
Div. yield
2.26%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins
AZZ Azz Inc
$136.89 +1.1% 1M +35.0% 1Y
Market cap
$4.10B
P/E
24.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.75B
Div. yield
0.64%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Azz leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Azz 8, Luxfer Holdings 3, Hongli 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHLPLXFRAZZLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $307.71M $461.61M $4.10B AZZ
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 158.4x 74.5x 24.5x AZZ
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 17.4x 18.6x LXFR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — -11.8% +9.5% AZZ
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 1.7% 9.6% AZZ
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 5.2% 11.4% AZZ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.2x 1.2x LXFR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 2.26% 0.64% LXFR
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +173.9% +30.2% +35.0% HLP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -3.0%/yr +20.9%/yr AZZ
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 119.3% 33.2% 32.0% AZZ
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 52/100 59/100 AZZ

Percentile Scorecard

HLPLXFRAZZ

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

AxisHLPLXFRAZZ
Valuation 7 #189 of 203 57 #87 of 203 75 #52 of 203
Growth – 19 #152 of 188 65 #67 of 188
Profitability – 39 #113 of 184 72 #52 of 184
Financial Health 55 #98 of 217 68 #71 of 217 57 #93 of 217
Shareholder Returns – 77 #36 of 153 26 #114 of 153
Overall – 52 59
  • HLP ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LXFR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • AZZ ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHLPLXFRAZZSPY
1 month +75.3%-0.2%+1.1% +0.9%
3 months +237.9%+1.1%-3.0% +5.9%
6 months +422.6%+21.1%-0.8% +8.5%
Year to date +302.9%+27.5%+27.7% +13.3%
1 year +173.9%+30.2%+35.0% +12.4%
3 years +88.7%+101.8%+194.6% +88.1%
3 years, per year +23.6%+26.4%+43.4% +23.5%
5 years —-14.2%+157.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year —-3.0%+20.9% +11.0%
10 years ——+156.8% +263.4%
10 years, per year ——+9.9% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureHLPLXFRAZZSPY
Volatility, 1Y 119.3%33.2%32.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 130.9%39.1%30.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.090.961.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.460.911.09 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -91.9%-67.3%-46.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-9.6%-14.5% -0.9%
52-week high $4.19$19.08$160.17 $779.14
52-week low $0.43$11.51$97.64 $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.

MultipleHLPLXFRAZZ
P/E now vs peer median 158.4xmedian 25.4x 74.5xmedian 25.4x 24.5xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 15.7xmedian 1.9x 1.3xmedian 1.9x 2.3xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.3x 15.5xmedian 14.3x 12.0xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -701.0xmedian 21.8x 24.4xmedian 21.8x 19.1xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 2.2x 2.1xmedian 2.2x 2.9xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.41 56.42median 1.41 0.28median 1.41

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 monthsHLPLXFRAZZ
Revenue – $355.20M $1.75B
Gross profit – $89.00M $423.83M
Operating income – $22.40M $287.42M
Net income – $6.20M $167.46M
Free cash flow – $18.90M $214.45M
R&D – $5.60M –
EPS (diluted) – $0.23 $5.56
Cash & equivalents $1.81M $19.90M $1.95M
Total debt $47.35M $57.70M $468.47M
Shares (diluted) 73.44M 27.30M 30.12M
Enterprise value $303.13M $407.11M $4.09B

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
MetricHLPLXFRAZZ
P/E 158.4x 74.5x 24.5x
P/FCF -701.0x 24.4x 19.1x
P/Operating cash flow – 15.4x 14.0x
P/S 15.7x 1.3x 2.3x
P/B 5.3x 2.1x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 5.8x 2.2x 4.1x
EV/EBITDA – 15.5x 12.0x
EV/EBIT – 22.3x 15.9x
EV/Revenue – 1.4x 2.6x
EV/FCF – 26.4x 21.3x
EV/Operating cash flow – 16.6x 15.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 56.42 0.28

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHLPLXFRAZZ
Revenue growth (1Y) – -11.8% 9.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – -5.9% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – -3.1% 11.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 2.9% 8.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 0.0% 21.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -4.2% 11.4%
Net income growth (1Y) – -56.6% -46.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 1.7% 99.0%
EPS growth (1Y) – -56.9% -46.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 1.3% 87.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -31.4% -42.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 0.7% 20.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -47.6% -47.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 0.2% 35.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHLPLXFRAZZ
Gross margin – 25.1% 24.3%
EBITDA margin – 9.1% 21.8%
Operating margin – 6.3% 16.5%
Pretax margin – 5.2% 12.9%
Net margin – 1.7% 9.6%
FCF margin – 5.3% 12.3%
Operating cash flow margin – 8.4% 16.7%
Return on equity – 2.8% 12.0%
Return on assets – 1.6% 7.3%
Return on invested capital – 5.2% 11.4%
Return on capital employed – 7.3% 14.1%
Asset turnover – 0.9x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 4.8x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.1% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHLPLXFRAZZ
Debt / assets 16.0% 15.1% 20.0%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.3x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.2x 1.2x
Debt / FCF – 3.1x 2.2x
Liabilities / assets 19.9% 42.1% 39.5%
Equity / assets 80.1% 57.9% 60.5%
Interest coverage – 6.6x 6.3x
Current ratio 1.1x 2.5x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.1x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.3x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 3.56 4.51

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHLPLXFRAZZ
Dividend yield – 2.3% 0.6%
Net buyback yield – 0.6% –
Shareholder yield – 2.8% 0.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusHLPLXFRAZZ
Forward P/E – 17.4xFY2026 18.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $0.99FY2026 $7.37FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -10.8%FY2026 +19.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +41.4% +12.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $386.72MFY2026 $1.97BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +4.2%FY2026 +19.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +2.6% -8.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHLPLXFRAZZ
Held by institutions – 91.6% 94.6%
Institutions holding – 136 364
Change in shares held, QoQ – -1.6% +1.1%
Institutions buying – 76 196
Institutions selling – 41 119
Buyers to sellers – 1.85 1.65

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.

HLPLXFRAZZ
HLP 1.00 -0.14 -0.10
LXFR -0.14 1.00 0.38
AZZ -0.10 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HLP, LXFR and AZZ?

Azz (AZZ) is the largest by market capitalisation: Hongli (HLP) $307.71M, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) $461.61M, Azz (AZZ) $4.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, HLP, LXFR and AZZ?

Azz (AZZ) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Hongli (HLP) 158.4x, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 74.5x, Azz (AZZ) 24.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) is cheapest (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 17.4x, Azz (AZZ) 18.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Azz (AZZ) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) -11.8%, Azz (AZZ) +9.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Azz (AZZ) has the highest net margin (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 1.7%, Azz (AZZ) 9.6%). On return on invested capital, Azz (AZZ) leads (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 5.2%, Azz (AZZ) 11.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Hongli (HLP) returned the most: Hongli (HLP) +173.9%, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) +30.2%, Azz (AZZ) +35.0%. Over five years, Azz (AZZ) compounded fastest (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) -3.0%/yr, Azz (AZZ) +20.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) has the highest dividend yield: Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 2.26%, Azz (AZZ) 0.64%. Hongli (HLP) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Azz (AZZ) has been the steadiest (Hongli (HLP) 119.3%, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 33.2%, Azz (AZZ) 32.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 8. 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.