KNF vs CRH vs VMC Stock Comparison

Knife River, Crh Public and Vulcan Materials Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KNF Knife River Corp
$54.83 +0.4% 1M -12.1% 1Y
Market cap
$3.11B
P/E
22.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Aggregates Basic Materials
1 win
CRH Crh Public Ltd Co
$85.79 +0.9% 1M -29.1% 1Y
Market cap
$57.13B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.63B
Div. yield
1.80%
Cement Basic Materials
6 wins
VMC Vulcan Materials CO
$262.55 +7.2% 1M -10.1% 1Y
Market cap
$33.97B
P/E
30.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.12B
Div. yield
0.78%
Aggregates Basic Materials
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Crh Public leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Crh Public 6, Vulcan Materials 5, Knife River 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKNFCRHVMCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.11B $57.13B $33.97B CRH
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.2x 14.9x 30.5x CRH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.5x 14.9x 28.0x CRH
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.1% +6.3% +6.9% KNF
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.2% 9.9% 13.7% VMC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 6.5% 9.7% 9.9% VMC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 1.9x 1.8x VMC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 1.80% 0.78% CRH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -12.1% -29.1% -10.1% VMC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +12.3%/yr +6.8%/yr CRH
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.1% 32.4% 29.0% VMC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 23/100 61/100 46/100 CRH

Percentile Scorecard

KNFCRHVMC

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

AxisKNFCRHVMC
Valuation 56 #5 of 10 78 #3 of 10 0 #10 of 10
Growth – – –
Profitability 0 #8 of 8 29 #6 of 8 64 #3 of 8
Financial Health 13 #8 of 9 50 #5 of 9 75 #3 of 9
Shareholder Returns – 86 #2 of 8 43 #5 of 8
Overall 23 61 46
  • KNF ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • CRH ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • VMC ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKNFCRHVMCSPY
1 month +0.4%+0.9%+7.2% -0.2%
3 months -30.6%-17.0%-9.1% +3.9%
6 months -37.7%-25.0%-9.9% +8.2%
Year to date -22.1%-31.3%-7.9% +12.9%
1 year -12.1%-29.1%-10.1% +12.3%
3 years +14.2%+63.9%+35.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +4.5%+17.9%+10.7% +23.3%
5 years —+78.7%+39.0% +67.9%
5 years, per year —+12.3%+6.8% +10.9%
10 years —+159.2%+134.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+10.0%+8.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureKNFCRHVMCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.1%32.4%29.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.4%32.8%32.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.311.300.81 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.24-0.90-0.35 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.3%-42.1%-32.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -41.7%-34.7%-20.5% -1.2%
52-week high $93.97$131.38$330.37 $779.14
52-week low $47.97$79.20$240.82 $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.

MultipleKNFCRHVMC
P/E now vs peer median 22.2xmedian 20.3x 14.9xmedian 20.3x 30.5xmedian 20.3x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.8x 1.5xmedian 1.8x 4.2xmedian 1.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 9.5x 9.2xmedian 9.5x 16.1xmedian 9.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 72.3xmedian 31.6x 20.7xmedian 31.6x 33.1xmedian 31.6x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.3x 2.3xmedian 2.3x 4.0xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 14.99median 2.85 —median 2.85 1.86median 2.85

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 monthsKNFCRHVMC
Revenue $3.31B $38.63B $8.12B
Gross profit $589.67M $14.00B $2.23B
Operating income $275.33M $5.53B $1.64B
Net income $139.89M $3.89B $1.12B
Free cash flow $43.06M $2.77B $1.03B
EPS (diluted) $2.46 $5.74 $8.56
Cash & equivalents $102.03M $3.03B $194.20M
Total debt $1.62B $17.93B $4.36B
Shares (diluted) 56.88M 668.80M 130.30M
Enterprise value $2.73B $43.63B $33.29B

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
MetricKNFCRHVMC
P/E 22.2x 14.9x 30.5x
P/FCF 72.3x 20.7x 33.1x
P/Operating cash flow 10.0x 10.5x 18.8x
P/S 0.9x 1.5x 4.2x
P/B 1.9x 2.3x 4.0x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 2.5x 4.8x
EV/EBITDA 9.4x 9.2x 16.1x
EV/EBIT 16.8x 13.0x 23.2x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 1.9x 4.7x
EV/FCF 107.5x 26.0x 37.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.8x 13.3x 21.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 14.99 – 1.86

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKNFCRHVMC
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.1% 6.3% 6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.3% – 2.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.3% 7.0% 6.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.6% – 8.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.5% 10.1% 14.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.6% – 13.1%
Net income growth (1Y) -8.7% 16.7% 17.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% – 15.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -8.7% 17.7% 19.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.5% – 16.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 28.0% 9.8% 10.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.2% – 10.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 181.0% 26.5% -6.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -29.0% – 16.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKNFCRHVMC
Gross margin 17.8% 36.2% 27.5%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 20.2% 29.2%
Operating margin 8.3% 14.3% 20.2%
Pretax margin 5.8% 13.3% 17.6%
Net margin 4.2% 9.9% 13.7%
FCF margin 1.3% 7.2% 12.7%
Operating cash flow margin 9.5% 14.0% 22.2%
Return on equity 8.8% 15.8% 13.2%
Return on assets 3.5% 6.7% 6.8%
Return on invested capital 6.5% 9.7% 9.9%
Return on capital employed 7.8% 11.4% 10.7%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x 1.4x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.4% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKNFCRHVMC
Debt / assets 38.7% 30.6% 26.5%
Debt / equity 1.0x 0.7x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x 1.9x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 37.6x 6.5x 4.2x
Liabilities / assets 61.6% 57.1% 48.4%
Equity / assets 38.4% 42.9% 51.6%
Interest coverage 3.1x 6.5x 7.2x
Current ratio 2.7x 1.6x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.5x 1.0x 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.29 2.73 3.93

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKNFCRHVMC
Dividend yield – 1.8% 0.8%
Net buyback yield – 2.0% 2.4%
Shareholder yield – 3.8% 3.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 23.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 25.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 4.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 6.2%

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.

ConsensusKNFCRHVMC
Forward P/E 20.5xFY2026 14.9xFY2026 28.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.67FY2026 $5.74FY2026 $9.37FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -3.3%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026 +17.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.5% +13.9% +11.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.66BFY2026 $41.93BFY2026 $8.31BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.2%FY2026 +12.0%FY2026 +4.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.1% -3.2% -1.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKNFCRHVMC
Held by institutions 96.7% 84.4% 98.5%
Institutions holding 391 1,029 1,060
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% +1.7% +3.6%
Institutions buying 168 554 526
Institutions selling 137 355 363
Buyers to sellers 1.23 1.56 1.45

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.

KNFCRHVMC
KNF 1.00 0.47 0.42
CRH 0.47 1.00 0.75
VMC 0.42 0.75 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KNF, CRH and VMC?

Crh Public (CRH) is the largest by market capitalisation: Knife River (KNF) $3.11B, Crh Public (CRH) $57.13B, Vulcan Materials (VMC) $33.97B.

Which stock is cheaper, KNF, CRH and VMC?

Crh Public (CRH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Knife River (KNF) 22.2x, Crh Public (CRH) 14.9x, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 30.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Crh Public (CRH) is cheapest (Knife River (KNF) 20.5x, Crh Public (CRH) 14.9x, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 28.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Knife River (KNF) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Knife River (KNF) +12.1%, Crh Public (CRH) +6.3%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) +6.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vulcan Materials (VMC) has the highest net margin (Knife River (KNF) 4.2%, Crh Public (CRH) 9.9%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 13.7%). On return on invested capital, Vulcan Materials (VMC) leads (Knife River (KNF) 6.5%, Crh Public (CRH) 9.7%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 9.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Vulcan Materials (VMC) returned the most: Knife River (KNF) -12.1%, Crh Public (CRH) -29.1%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) -10.1%. Over five years, Crh Public (CRH) compounded fastest (Crh Public (CRH) +12.3%/yr, Vulcan Materials (VMC) +6.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Crh Public (CRH) has the highest dividend yield: Crh Public (CRH) 1.80%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 0.78%. Knife River (KNF) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Vulcan Materials (VMC) has been the steadiest (Knife River (KNF) 51.1%, Crh Public (CRH) 32.4%, Vulcan Materials (VMC) 29.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KNF, CRH and VMC?

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