HLP vs MLI vs IIIN Stock Comparison

Hongli, Mueller Industries and Insteel Industries Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HLP Hongli Group Inc.
$4.19 +75.3% 1M +173.9% 1Y
Market cap
$306.24M
P/E
158.4x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
1 win
MLI Mueller Industries Inc
$55.30 -9.3% 1M -47.0% 1Y
Market cap
$12.08B
P/E
14.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.00B
Div. yield
0.01%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
6 wins
IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$28.31 -3.3% 1M -8.3% 1Y
Market cap
$560.61M
P/E
19.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

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

QuestionHLPMLIIIINLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $306.24M $12.08B $560.61M MLI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 158.4x 14.0x 19.0x MLI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 13.7x 13.8x MLI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +20.8% +14.2% MLI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 17.3% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 22.7% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.3x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +173.9% -47.0% -8.3% HLP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +16.0%/yr -7.0%/yr MLI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 119.3% 131.8% 41.4% IIIN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 86/100 68/100 MLI

Percentile Scorecard

HLPMLIIIIN

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

AxisHLPMLIIIIN
Valuation 7 #189 of 203 83 #35 of 203 85 #32 of 203
Growth – 68 #61 of 188 32 #128 of 188
Profitability – 96 #8 of 184 62 #70 of 184
Financial Health 55 #98 of 217 97 #7 of 217 –
Shareholder Returns – 84 #25 of 153 95 #9 of 153
Overall – 86 68
  • HLP ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MLI ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • IIIN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodHLPMLIIIINSPY
1 month +75.3%-9.3%-3.3% +0.9%
3 months +237.9%-15.4%-7.3% +5.9%
6 months +422.6%-58.4%+10.4% +8.5%
Year to date +302.9%-51.8%-10.6% +13.3%
1 year +173.9%-47.0%-8.3% +12.4%
3 years +88.7%+46.2%+4.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year +23.6%+13.5%+1.6% +23.5%
5 years —+110.1%-30.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year —+16.0%-7.0% +11.0%
10 years —+268.9%+7.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year —+13.9%+0.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureHLPMLIIIINSPY
Volatility, 1Y 119.3%131.8%41.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 130.9%165.1%51.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.090.700.98 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.46-0.36-0.20 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -91.9%-61.6%-49.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-60.7%-25.7% -0.9%
52-week high $4.19$140.83$38.11 $779.14
52-week low $0.43$54.11$24.48 $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.

MultipleHLPMLIIIIN
P/E now vs peer median 158.4xmedian 25.4x 13.9xmedian 25.4x 18.6xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 15.7xmedian 1.9x 2.4xmedian 1.9x 0.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.3x 9.4xmedian 14.3x —median 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -701.0xmedian 21.8x 17.5xmedian 21.8x -58.5xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 2.2x 3.4xmedian 2.2x 1.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.41 1.09median 1.41 -6.38median 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 monthsHLPMLIIIIN
Revenue – $5.00B $739.51M
Gross profit – $1.36B $75.68M
Operating income – $1.08B –
Net income – $871.57M $29.55M
Free cash flow – $689.59M –
EPS (diluted) – $3.92 $1.52
Cash & equivalents $1.81M $1.45B $37.48M
Total debt $47.35M $5.24M –
Shares (diluted) 73.44M 220.12M 19.49M
Enterprise value $301.66M $6.39B $560.61M

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
MetricHLPMLIIIIN
P/E 158.4x 13.9x 18.6x
P/FCF -701.0x 17.5x -58.5x
P/Operating cash flow – 15.7x 15.1x
P/S 15.7x 2.4x 0.7x
P/B 5.3x 3.4x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 5.8x 3.8x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA – 9.4x –
EV/EBIT – 9.8x –
EV/Revenue – 2.1x 0.7x
EV/FCF – 15.3x –
EV/Operating cash flow – 13.7x 15.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 1.09 -6.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHLPMLIIIIN
Revenue growth (1Y) – 20.8% 14.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 11.9% 4.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 11.7% -19.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 9.2% 5.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 12.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 9.9% –
Net income growth (1Y) – 14.9% -28.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 11.4% -3.0%
EPS growth (1Y) – 16.2% -27.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 12.8% -2.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 2.1% 33.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 3.0% -36.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 1.9% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 1.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHLPMLIIIIN
Gross margin – 27.3% –
EBITDA margin – 22.5% –
Operating margin – 21.5% –
Pretax margin – 22.8% –
Net margin – 17.3% –
FCF margin – 13.8% –
Operating cash flow margin – 15.4% 4.9%
Return on equity – 24.5% 7.9%
Return on assets – 20.4% 6.2%
Return on invested capital – 22.7% –
Return on capital employed – 29.7% –
Asset turnover – 1.2x 1.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 0.9x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.6% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHLPMLIIIIN
Debt / assets 16.0% 0.1% –
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.3x –
Debt / FCF – 0.0x –
Liabilities / assets 19.9% 17.6% –
Equity / assets 80.1% 82.4% 79.0%
Interest coverage – 3,260x –
Current ratio 1.1x 4.4x 3.7x
Quick ratio 0.8x 3.4x –
Cash ratio 0.1x 2.3x –
Altman Z-score – 13.61 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHLPMLIIIIN
Dividend yield – 0.8% 4.0%
Net buyback yield – 2.3% –
Shareholder yield – 3.1% 4.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 16.2% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 20.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 35.7% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 30.2% –

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.

ConsensusHLPMLIIIIN
Forward P/E – 13.7xFY2026 13.8xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year – $4.03FY2026 $2.05FY2027
EPS growth, next FY – +17.5%FY2026 +35.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after – +10.2% +7.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $5.04BFY2026 $759.46MFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY – +20.5%FY2026 +2.7%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after – +10.9% +4.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHLPMLIIIIN
Held by institutions – 95.3% 82.1%
Institutions holding – 738 187
Change in shares held, QoQ – +6.5% +0.9%
Institutions buying – 419 122
Institutions selling – 226 48
Buyers to sellers – 1.85 2.54

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.

HLPMLIIIIN
HLP 1.00 -0.20 -0.11
MLI -0.20 1.00 0.07
IIIN -0.11 0.07 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HLP, MLI and IIIN?

Mueller Industries (MLI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Hongli (HLP) $306.24M, Mueller Industries (MLI) $12.08B, Insteel Industries (IIIN) $560.61M.

Which stock is cheaper, HLP, MLI and IIIN?

Mueller Industries (MLI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Hongli (HLP) 158.4x, Mueller Industries (MLI) 14.0x, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 19.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mueller Industries (MLI) is cheapest (Mueller Industries (MLI) 13.7x, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 13.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mueller Industries (MLI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mueller Industries (MLI) +20.8%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) +14.2%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Hongli (HLP) returned the most: Hongli (HLP) +173.9%, Mueller Industries (MLI) -47.0%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -8.3%. Over five years, Mueller Industries (MLI) compounded fastest (Mueller Industries (MLI) +16.0%/yr, Insteel Industries (IIIN) -7.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Hongli (HLP) 0.00%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 0.01%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 0.00%. Hongli (HLP) and Insteel Industries (IIIN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Insteel Industries (IIIN) has been the steadiest (Hongli (HLP) 119.3%, Mueller Industries (MLI) 131.8%, Insteel Industries (IIIN) 41.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HLP, MLI and IIIN?

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