IIIN vs ACA vs AZZ Stock Comparison

Insteel Industries, Arcosa and Azz Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$28.05 -4.9% 1M -9.0% 1Y
Market cap
$547.57M
P/E
18.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins
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
AZZ Azz Inc
$133.41 -2.6% 1M +35.2% 1Y
Market cap
$4.10B
P/E
24.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.75B
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Arcosa leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Arcosa 6, Insteel Industries 3, Azz 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIIINACAAZZLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $547.57M $7.33B $4.10B ACA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.5x 14.9x 24.5x ACA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.7x 33.6x 18.1x IIIN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.2% +9.7% +9.5% IIIN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 17.9% 9.6% ACA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 6.5% 11.4% AZZ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.8x 1.2x AZZ
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.13% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -9.0% +61.6% +35.2% ACA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.0%/yr +23.0%/yr +20.8%/yr ACA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.5% 31.7% 32.1% ACA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 56/100 58/100 IIIN

Percentile Scorecard

IIINACAAZZ

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

AxisIIINACAAZZ
Valuation 83 #36 of 203 49 #105 of 203 75 #52 of 203
Growth 32 #128 of 187 82 #34 of 187 63 #69 of 187
Profitability 64 #67 of 185 51 #91 of 185 72 #52 of 185
Financial Health – 58 #92 of 219 56 #98 of 219
Shareholder Returns 95 #9 of 153 41 #90 of 153 24 #117 of 153
Overall 68 56 58
  • IIIN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ACA 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

PeriodIIINACAAZZSPY
1 month -4.9%+1.7%-2.6% -0.8%
3 months -13.1%+2.9%-10.2% +3.5%
6 months +9.4%+24.1%-7.9% +7.0%
Year to date -11.4%+40.3%+24.5% +12.2%
1 year -9.0%+61.6%+35.2% +13.0%
3 years +4.0%+117.4%+187.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year +1.3%+29.6%+42.2% +23.1%
5 years -26.7%+181.9%+157.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year -6.0%+23.0%+20.8% +11.0%
10 years +7.3%—+149.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +0.7%—+9.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureIIINACAAZZSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.5%31.7%32.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.3%32.9%30.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.980.951.17 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.221.941.10 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.9%-36.7%-46.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.4%0.0%-16.7% -1.8%
52-week high $38.11$149.18$160.17 $779.14
52-week low $24.48$92.25$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.

MultipleIIINACAAZZ
P/E now vs peer median 18.5xmedian 26.0x 14.9xmedian 26.0x 23.9xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.9x 2.7xmedian 1.9x 2.3xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.0x 15.2xmedian 14.0x 11.7xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -58.5xmedian 21.4x 54.9xmedian 21.4x 18.6xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 2.2x 2.5xmedian 2.2x 2.8xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -6.32median 1.26 0.75median 1.26 0.27median 1.26

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 monthsIIINACAAZZ
Revenue $739.51M $2.74B $1.75B
Gross profit $75.68M $632.30M $423.83M
Operating income – $322.70M $287.42M
Net income $29.55M $491.40M $167.46M
Free cash flow – $133.40M $214.45M
EPS (diluted) $1.52 $9.99 $5.56
Cash & equivalents $37.48M $432.10M $1.95M
Total debt – $1.44B $468.47M
Shares (diluted) 19.49M 49.20M 30.12M
Enterprise value $547.57M $6.31B $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
MetricIIINACAAZZ
P/E 18.5x 14.9x 23.9x
P/FCF -58.5x 54.9x 18.6x
P/Operating cash flow 15.0x 21.5x 13.7x
P/S 0.7x 2.7x 2.3x
P/B 1.4x 2.5x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 2.7x 4.0x
EV/EBITDA – 15.2x 11.7x
EV/EBIT – 25.8x 15.5x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 3.0x 2.6x
EV/FCF – 62.4x 20.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.0x 24.4x 15.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.32 0.75 0.27

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIIINACAAZZ
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.2% 9.7% 9.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 7.0% 5.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -19.0% 20.7% 11.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 14.2% 8.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 61.3% 21.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -5.6% 11.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -28.0% 433.0% -46.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -3.0% 20.2% 99.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -27.7% 430.8% -46.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.9% 19.8% 87.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 33.5% -23.1% -42.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -36.6% 16.1% 20.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -54.9% -47.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 54.7% 35.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIIINACAAZZ
Gross margin – 23.0% 24.3%
EBITDA margin – 19.9% 21.8%
Operating margin – 11.8% 16.5%
Pretax margin – 8.4% 12.9%
Net margin – 17.9% 9.6%
FCF margin – 4.9% 12.3%
Operating cash flow margin 4.9% 12.4% 16.7%
Return on equity 7.9% 17.4% 12.0%
Return on assets 6.2% 9.5% 7.3%
Return on invested capital – 6.5% 11.4%
Return on capital employed – 6.9% 14.1%
Asset turnover 1.5x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 0.7x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.9% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIIINACAAZZ
Debt / assets – 27.1% 20.0%
Debt / equity – 0.5x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.8x 1.2x
Debt / FCF – 10.8x 2.2x
Liabilities / assets – 43.7% 39.5%
Equity / assets 79.0% 56.3% 60.5%
Interest coverage – 3.3x 6.3x
Current ratio 3.7x 3.1x 1.8x
Quick ratio – 2.2x 0.8x
Cash ratio – 1.0x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 3.18 4.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIIINACAAZZ
Dividend yield 4.0% 0.1% 0.7%
Net buyback yield – 0.2% –
Shareholder yield 4.0% 0.4% 0.7%
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.

ConsensusIIINACAAZZ
Forward P/E 13.7xFY2027 33.6xFY2026 18.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.05FY2027 $4.44FY2026 $7.37FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.8%FY2027 -0.7%FY2026 +19.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.8% +7.0% +12.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $759.46MFY2027 $2.45BFY2026 $1.97BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.7%FY2027 -14.9%FY2026 +19.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.4% +12.5% -8.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIIINACAAZZ
Held by institutions 82.1% 91.8% 94.6%
Institutions holding 187 426 364
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.9% -1.1% +1.1%
Institutions buying 122 230 196
Institutions selling 48 114 119
Buyers to sellers 2.54 2.02 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.

IIINACAAZZ
IIIN 1.00 0.27 0.37
ACA 0.27 1.00 0.39
AZZ 0.37 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IIIN, ACA and AZZ?

Arcosa (ACA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Insteel Industries (IIIN) $547.57M, Arcosa (ACA) $7.33B, Azz (AZZ) $4.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, IIIN, ACA and AZZ?

Arcosa (ACA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 18.5x, Arcosa (ACA) 14.9x, Azz (AZZ) 24.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Insteel Industries (IIIN) is cheapest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 13.7x, Arcosa (ACA) 33.6x, Azz (AZZ) 18.1x). 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: Insteel Industries (IIIN) +14.2%, Arcosa (ACA) +9.7%, Azz (AZZ) +9.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcosa (ACA) returned the most: Insteel Industries (IIIN) -9.0%, Arcosa (ACA) +61.6%, Azz (AZZ) +35.2%. Over five years, Arcosa (ACA) compounded fastest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) -6.0%/yr, Arcosa (ACA) +23.0%/yr, Azz (AZZ) +20.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Arcosa (ACA) has been the steadiest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 41.5%, Arcosa (ACA) 31.7%, Azz (AZZ) 32.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IIIN, ACA 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, 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.