IIIN vs OPTX vs WS Stock Comparison

Insteel Industries, Syntec Optics Holdings and Worthington Steel Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$28.99 -0.4% 1M -6.9% 1Y
Market cap
$557.28M
P/E
18.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
0.04%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
4 wins
WS Worthington Steel, Inc.
$42.13 +18.3% 1M +32.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.10B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.30B
Div. yield
0.02%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Insteel Industries leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Insteel Industries 4, Worthington Steel 3, Syntec Optics Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIIINOPTXWSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $557.28M $267.29M $2.10B WS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 18.9x -110.7x -54.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.1x — 11.0x WS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.2% +1.5% +69.1% WS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% -8.3% -0.7% IIIN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 0.2% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -11.7x 19.9x OPTX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.02% IIIN
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.9% +179.7% +32.4% OPTX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.6%/yr — — –
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.5% 136.2% 47.2% IIIN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 31/100 34/100 IIIN

Percentile Scorecard

IIINOPTXWS

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

AxisIIINOPTXWS
Valuation 90 #22 of 203 5 #192 of 203 60 #81 of 203
Growth 33 #127 of 188 8 #174 of 188 34 #125 of 188
Profitability 46 #99 of 183 18 #151 of 183 29 #131 of 183
Financial Health 87 #29 of 216 95 #12 of 216 11 #193 of 216
Shareholder Returns 29 #108 of 152 – 38 #94 of 152
Overall 57 31 34
  • IIIN ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • OPTX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIIINOPTXWSSPY
1 month -0.4%-1.5%+18.3% +0.7%
3 months -5.3%+14.2%+20.0% +3.7%
6 months +10.7%-4.8%+9.6% +7.1%
Year to date -8.5%+155.2%+21.7% +12.8%
1 year -6.9%+179.7%+32.4% +11.9%
3 years +6.2%-40.3%— +85.2%
3 years, per year +2.0%-15.8%— +22.8%
5 years -28.7%—— +67.6%
5 years, per year -6.6%—— +10.9%
10 years +10.2%—— +262.0%
10 years, per year +1.0%—— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureIIINOPTXWSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.5%136.2%47.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.1%114.3%49.6% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.973.571.64 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.171.320.69 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.9%-93.0%-51.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.9%-48.3%-13.5% -1.2%
52-week high $38.11$14.11$48.69 $779.14
52-week low $24.48$1.25$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.

MultipleIIINOPTXWS
P/E now vs peer median 19.1xmedian 25.8x -118.5xmedian 25.8x -55.0xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.9x 10.1xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.5xmedian 14.6x 292.5xmedian 14.6x 41.9xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.6xmedian 22.2x -720.7xmedian 22.2x 46.2xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.2x 9.6xmedian 2.2x 1.3xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -6.43median 1.45 2.34median 1.45 1.69median 1.45

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 monthsIIINOPTXWS
Revenue $739.51M $29.24M $5.30B
Gross profit $75.68M $5.73M $549.30M
Operating income $37.57M -$1.35M $6.30M
Net income $29.55M -$2.41M -$56.50M
Free cash flow $24.84M -$407.99K $46.70M
EPS (diluted) $1.51 $-0.06 $-0.77
Cash & equivalents $37.48M $14.05M $248.20M
Total debt – $29.94M $2.20B
Shares (diluted) 19.52M 39.19M 50.00M
Enterprise value $466.17M $251.69M $1.58B

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
MetricIIINOPTXWS
P/E 19.1x -118.5x -55.0x
P/FCF 22.6x -720.7x 46.2x
P/Operating cash flow 15.3x 418.9x 10.7x
P/S 0.8x 10.1x 0.4x
P/B 1.5x 9.6x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 9.6x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 9.5x 292.5x 41.9x
EV/EBIT 13.9x -208.8x 651.7x
EV/Revenue 0.7x 9.7x 0.8x
EV/FCF 21.1x -693.0x 87.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.3x 402.8x 20.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.43 2.34 1.69

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIIINOPTXWS
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.2% 1.5% 69.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.4% – 15.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -19.0% -14.9% 36.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.0% – 13.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -27.9% -43.2% -95.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.7% -56.0% -65.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -28.0% -53.5% -144.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -3.0% -52.3% -34.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -27.8% -44.6% -132.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.0% -50.5% -32.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.8% -40.6% 18.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -36.4% -37.2% -10.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 31.1% -0.1% 50.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.4% -30.1% -41.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIIINOPTXWS
Gross margin 10.2% 19.6% 10.4%
EBITDA margin 7.5% 3.3% 1.8%
Operating margin 5.1% -4.6% 0.1%
Pretax margin 5.2% -6.8% -0.2%
Net margin 4.0% -8.3% -0.7%
FCF margin 3.4% -1.4% 0.9%
Operating cash flow margin 5.0% 2.4% 3.8%
Return on equity 7.9% -12.3% -4.0%
Return on assets 6.2% -7.7% -1.4%
Return on invested capital – – 0.2%
Return on capital employed 9.4% -5.2% 0.3%
Asset turnover 1.5x 0.9x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x -0.3x -3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% – 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIIINOPTXWS
Debt / assets – 7.1% 36.5%
Debt / equity – 0.1x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – -11.7x 19.9x
Debt / FCF – -6.8x 47.0x
Liabilities / assets 21.0% 21.5% 72.8%
Equity / assets 79.0% 78.5% 27.2%
Interest coverage 596.3x – 0.5x
Current ratio 3.7x 6.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.6x 4.3x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.5x 2.8x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 6.44 22.72 1.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIIINOPTXWS
Dividend yield 3.9% – 1.5%
Net buyback yield 0.6% – –
Shareholder yield 4.4% – 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.

ConsensusIIINOPTXWS
Forward P/E 14.1xFY2027 – 11.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.05FY2027 – $3.82FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.8%FY2027 – +71.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.8% – +30.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $759.46MFY2027 – $10.90BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.7%FY2027 – +217.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.4% – +2.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIIINOPTXWS
Held by institutions 82.1% 12.3% 56.3%
Institutions holding 187 62 239
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.9% +244.7% +1.2%
Institutions buying 122 51 113
Institutions selling 48 8 68
Buyers to sellers 2.54 6.38 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.

IIINOPTXWS
IIIN 1.00 0.21 0.33
OPTX 0.21 1.00 0.18
WS 0.33 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IIIN, OPTX and WS?

Worthington Steel (WS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Insteel Industries (IIIN) $557.28M, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) $267.29M, Worthington Steel (WS) $2.10B.

Which company is growing faster?

Worthington Steel (WS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Insteel Industries (IIIN) +14.2%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +1.5%, Worthington Steel (WS) +69.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Insteel Industries (IIIN) has the highest net margin (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 4.0%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) -8.3%, Worthington Steel (WS) -0.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) returned the most: Insteel Industries (IIIN) -6.9%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) +179.7%, Worthington Steel (WS) +32.4%. Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Insteel Industries (IIIN) has the highest dividend yield: Insteel Industries (IIIN) 0.04%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 0.00%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.02%. Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Insteel Industries (IIIN) has been the steadiest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 41.5%, Syntec Optics Holdings (OPTX) 136.2%, Worthington Steel (WS) 47.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IIIN, OPTX 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, Insteel Industries (IIIN) leads on 4. 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.