PNR vs WTS vs IEX Stock Comparison

Pentair, Watts Water Technologies and Idex Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PNR PENTAIR plc
$65.78 +23.0% 1M -38.9% 1Y
Market cap
$10.55B
P/E
17.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.97B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
4 wins
IEX Idex Corp /De/
$239.46 +3.9% 1M +38.1% 1Y
Market cap
$17.26B
P/E
32.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.66B
Div. yield
0.01%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Watts Water Technologies leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Watts Water Technologies 5, Pentair 4, Idex 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPNRWTSIEXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.55B $11.64B $17.26B IEX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 17.2x 30.3x 32.2x PNR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.5x 26.5x 26.2x PNR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -3.9% +17.1% +6.9% WTS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 15.4% 14.3% 14.6% PNR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 12.5% 16.8% 10.0% WTS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x -0.4x 1.2x WTS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.01% 0.01% PNR
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -38.9% +28.5% +38.1% IEX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.3%/yr +13.1%/yr +1.5%/yr WTS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.3% 27.8% 22.0% IEX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 71/100 58/100 WTS

Percentile Scorecard

PNRWTSIEX

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

AxisPNRWTSIEX
Valuation 71 #59 of 203 33 #137 of 203 37 #128 of 203
Growth 32 #128 of 188 79 #41 of 188 43 #107 of 188
Profitability 82 #33 of 183 92 #15 of 183 90 #19 of 183
Financial Health 46 #118 of 216 89 #25 of 216 72 #62 of 216
Shareholder Returns 79 #33 of 152 62 #59 of 152 47 #81 of 152
Overall 62 71 58
  • PNR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • WTS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • IEX ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPNRWTSIEXSPY
1 month +23.0%-2.0%+3.9% +0.7%
3 months -0.6%+1.9%+2.4% +3.7%
6 months -18.5%+16.9%+9.9% +7.1%
Year to date -36.8%+27.1%+34.6% +12.8%
1 year -38.9%+28.5%+38.1% +11.9%
3 years +12.0%+104.3%+25.7% +85.2%
3 years, per year +3.9%+26.9%+7.9% +22.8%
5 years -11.1%+84.7%+7.6% +67.6%
5 years, per year -2.3%+13.1%+1.5% +10.9%
10 years +19.3%+485.3%+177.8% +262.0%
10 years, per year +1.8%+19.3%+10.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePNRWTSIEXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.3%27.8%22.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.4%26.3%19.9% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.940.890.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.071.021.73 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -53.7%-44.4%-35.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -39.5%-10.5%-0.4% -1.2%
52-week high $108.69$392.27$240.52 $779.14
52-week low $52.11$263.55$161.68 $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.

MultiplePNRWTSIEX
P/E now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 25.8x 30.6xmedian 25.8x 32.9xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 1.9x 4.4xmedian 1.9x 4.8xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.2xmedian 14.6x 19.2xmedian 14.6x 19.2xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 22.2x 33.5xmedian 22.2x 26.4xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 2.2x 5.4xmedian 2.2x 4.4xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.23median 1.45 2.38median 1.45 -8.64median 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 monthsPNRWTSIEX
Revenue $3.97B $2.68B $3.66B
Gross profit $1.64B $1.31B $1.64B
Operating income $777.40M $512.10M $763.90M
Net income $612.20M $383.80M $535.80M
Free cash flow $646.60M $349.40M $667.10M
R&D $94.10M – –
EPS (diluted) $3.82 $11.46 $7.24
Cash & equivalents $74.00M $347.90M $602.10M
Total debt $1.48B $108.00M $1.75B
Shares (diluted) 160.30M 33.50M 74.00M
Enterprise value $10.22B $10.05B $14.87B

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
MetricPNRWTSIEX
P/E 17.1x 30.6x 32.9x
P/FCF 16.2x 33.5x 26.4x
P/Operating cash flow 14.5x 29.4x 23.4x
P/S 2.6x 4.4x 4.8x
P/B 2.7x 5.4x 4.4x
P/Tangible book 3.7x 6.1x 6.1x
EV/EBITDA 13.2x 19.2x 19.2x
EV/EBIT 15.3x 22.4x 24.5x
EV/Revenue 3.0x 4.3x 5.1x
EV/FCF 18.4x 32.8x 28.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 16.4x 28.8x 24.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.23 2.38 -8.64

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPNRWTSIEX
Revenue growth (1Y) -3.9% 17.1% 6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.3% 10.3% 3.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.2% 18.0% 8.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 13.0% 4.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -8.3% 26.4% 12.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 15.5% 0.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -6.4% 23.2% 12.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 12.7% -4.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -3.6% 23.2% 13.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 12.8% -3.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -14.8% 12.1% 17.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 12.5% 3.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -17.4% 10.3% 14.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.7% 11.4% 3.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPNRWTSIEX
Gross margin 41.2% 48.9% 44.9%
EBITDA margin 22.7% 22.3% 26.7%
Operating margin 19.6% 19.1% 20.9%
Pretax margin 17.5% 19.0% 19.2%
Net margin 15.4% 14.3% 14.6%
FCF margin 16.3% 13.1% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin 18.3% 14.9% 20.6%
Return on equity 16.1% 17.9% 13.4%
Return on assets 9.2% 13.0% 7.8%
Return on invested capital 12.5% 16.8% 10.0%
Return on capital employed 13.5% 21.1% 12.2%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.9x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.9% 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPNRWTSIEX
Debt / assets 22.3% 3.7% 25.5%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.0x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x -0.4x 1.2x
Debt / FCF 2.3x 0.3x 2.6x
Liabilities / assets 42.1% 25.8% 41.6%
Equity / assets 57.9% 74.2% 58.4%
Interest coverage – 50.2x –
Current ratio 1.5x 2.7x 2.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.5x 1.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.7x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 3.96 11.80 5.75

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPNRWTSIEX
Dividend yield 1.6% 0.7% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 3.8% 0.1% 1.7%
Shareholder yield 5.5% 0.8% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 28.1% 19.2% 39.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) 26.6% 21.1% 32.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.5% 21.2% 1.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 20.1% 4.5%

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.

ConsensusPNRWTSIEX
Forward P/E 14.5xFY2026 26.5xFY2026 26.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.55FY2026 $13.22FY2026 $9.14FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -7.5%FY2026 +25.0%FY2026 +15.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.6% +13.2% +12.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.86BFY2026 $3.02BFY2026 $3.93BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -7.5%FY2026 +23.8%FY2026 +13.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +10.5% -5.1% +3.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPNRWTSIEX
Held by institutions 95.0% 80.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 720 580 687
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.1% +1.9% +0.1%
Institutions buying 353 295 351
Institutions selling 257 187 202
Buyers to sellers 1.37 1.58 1.74

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.

PNRWTSIEX
PNR 1.00 0.29 0.33
WTS 0.29 1.00 0.42
IEX 0.33 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PNR, WTS and IEX?

Idex (IEX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Pentair (PNR) $10.55B, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) $11.64B, Idex (IEX) $17.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, PNR, WTS and IEX?

Pentair (PNR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Pentair (PNR) 17.2x, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 30.3x, Idex (IEX) 32.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pentair (PNR) is cheapest (Pentair (PNR) 14.5x, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 26.5x, Idex (IEX) 26.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Watts Water Technologies (WTS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Pentair (PNR) -3.9%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) +17.1%, Idex (IEX) +6.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Pentair (PNR) has the highest net margin (Pentair (PNR) 15.4%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 14.3%, Idex (IEX) 14.6%). On return on invested capital, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) leads (Pentair (PNR) 12.5%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 16.8%, Idex (IEX) 10.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Idex (IEX) returned the most: Pentair (PNR) -38.9%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) +28.5%, Idex (IEX) +38.1%. Over five years, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) compounded fastest (Pentair (PNR) -2.3%/yr, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) +13.1%/yr, Idex (IEX) +1.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Pentair (PNR) has the highest dividend yield: Pentair (PNR) 0.02%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 0.01%, Idex (IEX) 0.01%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Idex (IEX) has been the steadiest (Pentair (PNR) 36.3%, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) 27.8%, Idex (IEX) 22.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PNR, WTS and IEX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Watts Water Technologies (WTS) leads on 5. 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.