LXFR vs MEC vs WS Stock Comparison

Luxfer Holdings, Mayville Engineering Company and Worthington Steel Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LXFR Luxfer Holdings Plc
$17.27 +0.1% 1M +28.9% 1Y
Market cap
$462.13M
P/E
57.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$363.20M
Div. yield
2.26%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
7 wins
WS Worthington Steel, Inc.
$42.74 +18.0% 1M +36.0% 1Y
Market cap
$2.19B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$5.30B
Div. yield
1.50%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Luxfer Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Luxfer Holdings 7, Worthington Steel 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLXFRMECWSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $462.13M $351.90M $2.19B WS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 57.7x -18.2x -55.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.4x 57.5x 11.2x WS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -10.6% +11.8% +69.1% WS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.2% -3.0% -0.7% LXFR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.6% -1.8% 0.2% LXFR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 3.9x 19.9x LXFR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.26% — 1.50% LXFR
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +28.9% -16.4% +36.0% WS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.0%/yr -5.1%/yr — LXFR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.2% 54.8% 47.2% LXFR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 28/100 33/100 LXFR

Percentile Scorecard

LXFRMECWS

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

AxisLXFRMECWS
Valuation 58 #85 of 203 48 #107 of 203 59 #83 of 203
Growth 16 #159 of 188 11 #168 of 188 32 #128 of 188
Profitability 39 #113 of 183 23 #141 of 183 29 #130 of 183
Financial Health 59 #90 of 217 31 #150 of 217 10 #196 of 217
Shareholder Returns 81 #30 of 153 – 34 #101 of 153
Overall 50 28 33
  • LXFR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MEC 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

PeriodLXFRMECWSSPY
1 month +0.1%-19.7%+18.0% -0.2%
3 months +1.1%-50.3%+12.1% +3.9%
6 months +29.9%-37.0%+13.5% +8.2%
Year to date +27.6%-26.3%+23.5% +12.9%
1 year +28.9%-16.4%+36.0% +12.3%
3 years +102.0%+28.6%— +87.4%
3 years, per year +26.4%+8.8%— +23.3%
5 years -13.9%-23.2%— +67.9%
5 years, per year -3.0%-5.1%— +10.9%

Risk

MeasureLXFRMECWSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.2%54.8%47.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.2%53.1%49.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.961.571.64 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.87-0.300.76 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.3%-66.7%-51.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.5%-63.2%-12.2% -1.2%
52-week high $19.08$37.54$48.69 $779.14
52-week low $11.51$12.73$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.

MultipleLXFRMECWS
P/E now vs peer median 57.7xmedian 25.2x -18.2xmedian 25.2x -55.8xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.9x 0.6xmedian 1.9x 0.4xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.5xmedian 14.0x 15.1xmedian 14.0x 42.2xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.5xmedian 21.7x -77.0xmedian 21.7x 46.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.3x 1.1xmedian 2.3x 1.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -2.97median 1.32 0.38median 1.32 1.72median 1.32

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 monthsLXFRMECWS
Revenue $363.20M $586.34M $5.30B
Gross profit $90.20M $53.52M $549.30M
Operating income $22.70M -$12.80M $6.30M
Net income $8.00M -$17.30M -$56.50M
Free cash flow $16.80M -$4.57M $46.70M
R&D $5.10M – –
EPS (diluted) $0.29 $-0.76 $-0.77
Cash & equivalents $11.50M $2.20M $248.20M
Total debt – $752.49M $2.20B
Shares (diluted) 27.22M 22.77M 50.00M
Enterprise value $421.53M $344.92M $2.28B

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
MetricLXFRMECWS
P/E 57.7x -18.2x -55.8x
P/FCF 27.5x -77.0x 46.9x
P/Operating cash flow 17.8x 25.3x 10.9x
P/S 1.3x 0.6x 0.4x
P/B 2.1x 1.1x 1.3x
P/Tangible book 2.2x 1.6x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 15.5x 15.1x 42.2x
EV/EBIT 22.4x -37.1x 656.7x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 0.8x 0.8x
EV/FCF 30.3x -104.0x 88.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.6x 34.1x 20.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.97 0.38 1.72

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLXFRMECWS
Revenue growth (1Y) -10.6% 11.8% 69.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -5.4% 2.4% 15.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.3% -5.8% 36.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -0.1% -4.2% 13.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -33.6% -142.1% -95.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -14.7% -37.8% -65.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -67.1% -196.8% -144.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -19.3% -49.1% -34.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -67.2% -188.0% -132.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -19.4% -47.4% -32.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -42.4% -82.4% 18.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.7% -23.3% -10.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -52.8% -106.7% 50.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.8% 16.0% -41.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLXFRMECWS
Gross margin 24.8% 9.1% 10.4%
EBITDA margin 9.0% 5.4% 1.8%
Operating margin 6.3% -2.2% 0.1%
Pretax margin 5.4% -4.7% -0.2%
Net margin 2.2% -3.0% -0.7%
FCF margin 4.6% -0.8% 0.9%
Operating cash flow margin 7.2% 2.4% 3.8%
Return on equity 3.6% -6.2% -4.0%
Return on assets 2.0% -3.0% -1.4%
Return on invested capital 4.6% -1.8% 0.2%
Return on capital employed 7.3% -2.6% 0.3%
Asset turnover 0.9x 1.0x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.3x -0.8x -3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% 0.6% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLXFRMECWS
Debt / assets 15.0% 21.4% 36.5%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.4x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 3.9x 19.9x
Debt / FCF 3.5x -27.5x 47.0x
Liabilities / assets 42.8% 44.7% 72.8%
Equity / assets 57.2% 55.3% 27.2%
Interest coverage 7.3x -0.9x 0.5x
Current ratio 2.3x 1.7x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.9x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.0x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.50 1.96 1.55

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLXFRMECWS
Dividend yield 2.3% – 1.5%
Net buyback yield 0.7% – –
Shareholder yield 3.0% – 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -57.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 70.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 2.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusLXFRMECWS
Forward P/E 17.4xFY2026 57.5xFY2026 11.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.99FY2026 $0.24FY2026 $3.82FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.8%FY2026 -22.6%FY2026 +71.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +41.4% +354.2% +30.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $386.72MFY2026 $666.72MFY2026 $10.90BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.2%FY2026 +22.0%FY2026 +217.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.6% +4.5% +2.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLXFRMECWS
Held by institutions 91.6% 83.1% 56.3%
Institutions holding 136 156 238
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.6% +47.1% +1.2%
Institutions buying 76 98 112
Institutions selling 41 40 68
Buyers to sellers 1.85 2.45 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.

LXFRMECWS
LXFR 1.00 0.30 0.35
MEC 0.30 1.00 0.33
WS 0.35 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LXFR, MEC and WS?

Worthington Steel (WS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) $462.13M, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) $351.90M, Worthington Steel (WS) $2.19B.

Which company is growing faster?

Worthington Steel (WS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) -10.6%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) +11.8%, Worthington Steel (WS) +69.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) has the highest net margin (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 2.2%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -3.0%, Worthington Steel (WS) -0.7%). On return on invested capital, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) leads (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 4.6%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -1.8%, Worthington Steel (WS) 0.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Worthington Steel (WS) returned the most: Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) +28.9%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -16.4%, Worthington Steel (WS) +36.0%. Over five years, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) compounded fastest (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) -3.0%/yr, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) -5.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) has the highest dividend yield: Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 2.26%, Worthington Steel (WS) 1.50%. Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) has been the steadiest (Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 33.2%, Mayville Engineering Company (MEC) 54.8%, Worthington Steel (WS) 47.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LXFR, MEC 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, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) leads on 7. 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.