IIIN vs LCII vs WS Stock Comparison

Insteel Industries, Lci Industries and Worthington Steel Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$28.83 -2.3% 1M -7.7% 1Y
Market cap
$558.09M
P/E
19.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
3.88%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
1 win
LCII Lci Industries
$102.04 +23.2% 1M -1.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.48B
P/E
11.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.03B
Div. yield
4.51%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
8 wins
WS Worthington Steel, Inc.
$41.83 +13.1% 1M +30.8% 1Y
Market cap
$2.14B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.30B
Div. yield
1.53%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Lci Industries leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Lci Industries 8, Worthington Steel 3, Insteel Industries 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIIINLCIIWSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $558.09M $2.48B $2.14B LCII
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.0x 11.7x -54.6x LCII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.1x 12.5x 11.0x WS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.2% +4.1% +69.1% WS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% 5.2% -0.7% LCII
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 9.7% 0.2% LCII
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.5x 19.9x LCII
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.88% 4.51% 1.53% LCII
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.7% -1.4% +30.8% WS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.9%/yr -7.4%/yr — IIIN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.6% 37.5% 47.5% LCII
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 70/100 33/100 LCII

Percentile Scorecard

IIINLCIIWS

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

AxisIIINLCIIWS
Valuation 90 #21 of 203 97 #7 of 203 60 #81 of 203
Growth 32 #129 of 189 57 #81 of 189 34 #126 of 189
Profitability 45 #103 of 187 61 #73 of 187 29 #134 of 187
Financial Health 88 #28 of 221 46 #120 of 221 10 #200 of 221
Shareholder Returns 27 #111 of 152 86 #22 of 152 35 #99 of 152
Overall 56 70 33
  • IIIN ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • LCII ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • WS ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIIINLCIIWSSPY
1 month -2.3%+23.2%+13.1% -2.3%
3 months -7.4%-1.4%+14.7% -0.7%
6 months +12.0%-4.4%+9.9% +4.8%
Year to date -9.0%-15.9%+20.8% +10.3%
1 year -7.7%-1.4%+30.8% +10.3%
3 years -3.2%-13.2%— +73.0%
3 years, per year -1.1%-4.6%— +20.1%
5 years -30.2%-31.7%— +61.9%
5 years, per year -6.9%-7.4%— +10.1%
10 years +7.8%+16.1%— +258.6%
10 years, per year +0.8%+1.5%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureIIINLCIIWSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.6%37.5%47.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.4%36.3%50.0% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.980.861.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.19-0.040.65 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.9%-53.5%-51.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.4%-35.1%-14.1% -3.5%
52-week high $38.11$157.13$48.69 $779.14
52-week low $24.48$78.16$28.10 $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.

MultipleIIINLCIIWS
P/E now vs peer median 19.0xmedian 25.6x 11.7xmedian 25.6x -54.6xmedian 25.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.9x 0.6xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 14.4x 7.4xmedian 14.4x 41.7xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.5xmedian 22.5x 8.6xmedian 22.5x 45.9xmedian 22.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.2x 1.7xmedian 2.2x 1.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -6.40median 1.36 0.31median 1.36 1.68median 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 monthsIIINLCIIWS
Revenue $739.51M $4.03B $5.30B
Gross profit $75.68M $1.03B $549.30M
Operating income $37.57M $301.92M $6.30M
Net income $29.55M $211.27M -$56.50M
Free cash flow $24.84M $286.96M $46.70M
EPS (diluted) $1.51 $8.66 $-0.77
Cash & equivalents $37.48M $216.51M $248.20M
Total debt – $852.59M $2.20B
Shares (diluted) 19.52M 24.39M 50.00M
Enterprise value $466.99M $1.70B $2.23B

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
MetricIIINLCIIWS
P/E 19.0x 11.7x -54.6x
P/FCF 22.5x 8.6x 45.9x
P/Operating cash flow 15.2x 7.2x 10.6x
P/S 0.8x 0.6x 0.4x
P/B 1.5x 1.7x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 2.3x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 9.4x 7.4x 41.7x
EV/EBIT 13.9x 10.3x 649.3x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 0.8x 0.8x
EV/FCF 21.0x 10.9x 87.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.2x 9.0x 20.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.40 0.31 1.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIIINLCIIWS
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.2% 4.1% 69.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 0.1% 15.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -19.0% 13.4% 36.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 8.7% 13.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -27.9% 26.3% -95.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 29.3% -65.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -28.0% 38.8% -144.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -3.0% 35.5% -34.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -27.8% 43.1% -132.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.0% 37.4% -32.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.8% 1.9% 18.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -36.4% -13.1% -10.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 31.1% -3.4% 50.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.4% -12.9% -41.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIIINLCIIWS
Gross margin 10.2% 25.7% 10.4%
EBITDA margin 7.5% 10.5% 1.8%
Operating margin 5.1% 7.5% 0.1%
Pretax margin 5.2% 7.1% -0.2%
Net margin 4.0% 5.2% -0.7%
FCF margin 3.4% 7.1% 0.9%
Operating cash flow margin 5.0% 8.6% 3.8%
Return on equity 7.9% 15.0% -4.0%
Return on assets 6.2% 6.5% -1.4%
Return on invested capital – 9.7% 0.2%
Return on capital employed 9.4% 11.4% 0.3%
Asset turnover 1.5x 1.2x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.6x -3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.6% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIIINLCIIWS
Debt / assets – 26.1% 36.5%
Debt / equity – 0.6x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.5x 19.9x
Debt / FCF – 3.0x 47.0x
Liabilities / assets 21.0% 56.2% 72.8%
Equity / assets 79.0% 43.8% 27.2%
Interest coverage 596.3x – 0.5x
Current ratio 3.7x 2.5x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.6x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.4x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 6.42 3.25 1.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIIINLCIIWS
Dividend yield 3.9% 4.5% 1.5%
Net buyback yield 0.6% 0.3% –
Shareholder yield 4.4% 4.8% 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 73.5% – -57.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) 87.5% – 70.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) -0.2% – 2.2%
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.

ConsensusIIINLCIIWS
Forward P/E 14.1xFY2027 12.5xFY2026 11.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.05FY2027 $8.18FY2026 $3.82FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.8%FY2027 +9.7%FY2026 +71.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.8% +18.7% +30.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $759.46MFY2027 $4.16BFY2026 $10.90BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.7%FY2027 +1.1%FY2026 +217.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.4% +4.9% +2.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIIINLCIIWS
Held by institutions 82.1% 100.0% 56.3%
Institutions holding 187 360 239
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.9% -3.1% +1.2%
Institutions buying 122 181 113
Institutions selling 48 123 68
Buyers to sellers 2.54 1.47 1.66

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.

IIINLCIIWS
IIIN 1.00 0.21 0.34
LCII 0.21 1.00 0.24
WS 0.34 0.24 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IIIN, LCII and WS?

Lci Industries (LCII) is the largest by market capitalisation: Insteel Industries (IIIN) $558.09M, Lci Industries (LCII) $2.48B, Worthington Steel (WS) $2.14B.

Which stock is cheaper, IIIN, LCII and WS?

Lci Industries (LCII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 19.0x, Lci Industries (LCII) 11.7x, Worthington Steel (WS) -54.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Worthington Steel (WS) is cheapest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 14.1x, Lci Industries (LCII) 12.5x, Worthington Steel (WS) 11.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Worthington Steel (WS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Insteel Industries (IIIN) +14.2%, Lci Industries (LCII) +4.1%, Worthington Steel (WS) +69.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lci Industries (LCII) has the highest net margin (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 4.0%, Lci Industries (LCII) 5.2%, Worthington Steel (WS) -0.7%). On return on invested capital, Lci Industries (LCII) leads (Lci Industries (LCII) 9.7%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Worthington Steel (WS) returned the most: Insteel Industries (IIIN) -7.7%, Lci Industries (LCII) -1.4%, Worthington Steel (WS) +30.8%. Over five years, Insteel Industries (IIIN) compounded fastest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) -6.9%/yr, Lci Industries (LCII) -7.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Lci Industries (LCII) has the highest dividend yield: Insteel Industries (IIIN) 3.88%, Lci Industries (LCII) 4.51%, Worthington Steel (WS) 1.53%.

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%, Worthington Steel (WS) 47.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.