IIIN vs LCII vs MEC Stock Comparison

Insteel Industries, Lci Industries and Mayville Engineering Company Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$28.83 -2.3% 1M -7.7% 1Y
Market cap
$560.78M
P/E
19.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
0.04%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
1 win
LCII Lci Industries
$102.04 +23.2% 1M -1.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.53B
P/E
12.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.03B
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
9 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Lci Industries leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Lci Industries 9, Insteel Industries 1, Mayville Engineering Company 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIIINLCIIMECLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $560.78M $2.53B $357.68M LCII
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.0x 12.0x -20.7x LCII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.9x 12.5x 67.5x LCII
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.2% +4.1% +11.8% IIIN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% 5.2% -3.0% LCII
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 9.7% -1.8% LCII
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.5x 3.9x LCII
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.7% -1.4% -11.2% LCII
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.9%/yr -7.4%/yr -1.6%/yr MEC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.6% 37.5% 55.5% LCII
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 70/100 28/100 LCII

Percentile Scorecard

IIINLCIIMEC

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

AxisIIINLCIIMEC
Valuation 90 #21 of 203 97 #7 of 203 46 #110 of 203
Growth 32 #129 of 189 57 #81 of 189 11 #169 of 189
Profitability 45 #103 of 187 61 #73 of 187 23 #145 of 187
Financial Health 88 #28 of 221 46 #120 of 221 33 #149 of 221
Shareholder Returns 27 #111 of 152 86 #22 of 152 –
Overall 56 70 28
  • IIIN ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • LCII ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • MEC ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIIINLCIIMECSPY
1 month -2.3%+23.2%-3.9% -2.3%
3 months -7.4%-1.4%-40.4% -0.7%
6 months +12.0%-4.4%-28.6% +4.8%
Year to date -9.0%-15.9%-15.5% +10.3%
1 year -7.7%-1.4%-11.2% +10.3%
3 years -3.2%-13.2%+30.4% +73.0%
3 years, per year -1.1%-4.6%+9.3% +20.1%
5 years -30.2%-31.7%-8.0% +61.9%
5 years, per year -6.9%-7.4%-1.6% +10.1%
10 years +7.8%+16.1%— +258.6%
10 years, per year +0.8%+1.5%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureIIINLCIIMECSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.6%37.5%55.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.4%36.3%53.2% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.980.861.55 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.19-0.04-0.20 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.9%-53.5%-66.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.4%-35.1%-57.9% -3.5%
52-week high $38.11$157.13$37.54 $779.14
52-week low $24.48$78.16$12.73 $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.

MultipleIIINLCIIMEC
P/E now vs peer median 19.0xmedian 25.6x 11.7xmedian 25.6x -20.8xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.9x 0.6xmedian 1.9x 0.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 14.4x 7.4xmedian 14.4x 16.7xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.5xmedian 22.5x 8.6xmedian 22.5x -88.2xmedian 22.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.2x 1.7xmedian 2.2x 1.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -6.40median 1.36 0.31median 1.36 0.44median 1.36

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 monthsIIINLCIIMEC
Revenue $739.51M $4.03B $586.34M
Gross profit $75.68M $1.03B $53.52M
Operating income $37.57M $301.92M -$12.80M
Net income $29.55M $211.27M -$17.30M
Free cash flow $24.84M $286.96M -$4.57M
EPS (diluted) $1.51 $8.66 $-0.76
Cash & equivalents $37.48M $216.51M $2.20M
Total debt – $852.59M $125.72M
Shares (diluted) 19.52M 24.39M 22.77M
Enterprise value $469.68M $1.75B $350.70M

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
MetricIIINLCIIMEC
P/E 19.0x 11.7x -20.8x
P/FCF 22.5x 8.6x -88.2x
P/Operating cash flow 15.2x 7.2x 29.0x
P/S 0.8x 0.6x 0.7x
P/B 1.5x 1.7x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 2.3x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA 9.4x 7.4x 16.7x
EV/EBIT 13.9x 10.3x -41.2x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 0.8x 0.9x
EV/FCF 21.0x 10.9x -115.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.2x 9.0x 37.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.40 0.31 0.44

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIIINLCIIMEC
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.2% 4.1% 11.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 0.1% 2.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -19.0% 13.4% -5.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 8.7% -4.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -27.9% 26.3% -142.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 29.3% -37.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -28.0% 38.8% -196.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -3.0% 35.5% -49.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -27.8% 43.1% -188.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.0% 37.4% -47.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.8% 1.9% -82.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -36.4% -13.1% -23.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 31.1% -3.4% -106.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.4% -12.9% 16.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIIINLCIIMEC
Gross margin 10.2% 25.7% 9.1%
EBITDA margin 7.5% 10.5% 5.4%
Operating margin 5.1% 7.5% -2.2%
Pretax margin 5.2% 7.1% -4.7%
Net margin 4.0% 5.2% -3.0%
FCF margin 3.4% 7.1% -0.8%
Operating cash flow margin 5.0% 8.6% 2.4%
Return on equity 7.9% 15.0% -6.2%
Return on assets 6.2% 6.5% -3.0%
Return on invested capital – 9.7% -1.8%
Return on capital employed 9.4% 11.4% -2.6%
Asset turnover 1.5x 1.2x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.6x -0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.6% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIIINLCIIMEC
Debt / assets – 26.1% 21.4%
Debt / equity – 0.6x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.5x 3.9x
Debt / FCF – 3.0x -27.5x
Liabilities / assets 21.0% 56.2% 44.7%
Equity / assets 79.0% 43.8% 55.3%
Interest coverage 596.3x – -0.9x
Current ratio 3.7x 2.5x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.6x 1.0x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 6.42 3.25 2.08

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIIINLCIIMEC
Dividend yield 3.9% 4.5% –
Net buyback yield 0.6% 0.3% –
Shareholder yield 4.4% 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.

ConsensusIIINLCIIMEC
Forward P/E 13.9xFY2027 12.5xFY2026 67.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.05FY2027 $8.18FY2026 $0.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.8%FY2027 +9.7%FY2026 -22.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.8% +18.7% +354.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $759.46MFY2027 $4.16BFY2026 $666.72MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.7%FY2027 +1.1%FY2026 +22.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.4% +4.9% +4.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIIINLCIIMEC
Held by institutions 82.1% 100.0% 83.1%
Institutions holding 187 360 158
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.9% -3.1% +47.1%
Institutions buying 122 181 100
Institutions selling 48 123 40
Buyers to sellers 2.54 1.47 2.50

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.

IIINLCIIMEC
IIIN 1.00 0.21 0.27
LCII 0.21 1.00 0.24
MEC 0.27 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IIIN, LCII and MEC?

Lci Industries (LCII) is the largest by market capitalisation: Insteel Industries (IIIN) $560.78M, Lci Industries (LCII) $2.53B, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) $357.68M.

Which stock is cheaper, IIIN, LCII and MEC?

Lci Industries (LCII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 19.0x, Lci Industries (LCII) 12.0x, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -20.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lci Industries (LCII) is cheapest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 13.9x, Lci Industries (LCII) 12.5x, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) 67.5x). 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%, Lci Industries (LCII) +4.1%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) +11.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lci Industries (LCII) has the highest net margin (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 4.0%, Lci Industries (LCII) 5.2%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -3.0%). On return on invested capital, Lci Industries (LCII) leads (Lci Industries (LCII) 9.7%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -1.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lci Industries (LCII) returned the most: Insteel Industries (IIIN) -7.7%, Lci Industries (LCII) -1.4%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -11.2%. Over five years, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) compounded fastest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) -6.9%/yr, Lci Industries (LCII) -7.4%/yr, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -1.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Insteel Industries (IIIN) 0.04%, Lci Industries (LCII) 0.00%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) 0.00%. Lci Industries (LCII) and Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Lci Industries (LCII) has been the steadiest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 41.6%, Lci Industries (LCII) 37.5%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) 55.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IIIN, LCII and MEC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Lci Industries (LCII) leads on 9. 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.