COMPARE · Reviewed July 3, 2026
KFY vs MWA
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. KFY scored 74.3, MWA scored 74.9 — MWA ahead by 0.6000000000000085.
KFY
Korn Ferry
74.3
$69.68
Score gap
0.6000000000000085
MWA leads
MWA
Mueller Water Products, Inc.
74.9
$24.97
The companies
KFYKorn Ferry
Why now
Staffing & Employment Services · market cap $3.5b. 11% off the 52-week high of $78.50. 4 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $81.00 (implying +16% upside).
Moat
ROE 14% meets the long-run market sustainable threshold — solid but not differentiated; the durability comes from elsewhere. FCF converts 117% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash, a sign that working capital and capex are well-disciplined.
Risk
Value re-rating depends on a catalyst. Without one — analyst day, divestiture, margin recovery, capital return — the stock can stay cheap on these multiples for years.
MWAMueller Water Products, Inc.
Why now
Specialty Industrial Machinery · market cap $3.9b. 19% off the 52-week high of $31.00. 6 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $31.00 (implying +24% upside).
Moat
Net margin 14% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 19% sits above Buffett's preferred 15% threshold — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
Base grades (each contributes ~14.3% of base composite)
| KFY | Component | MWA |
|---|---|---|
| C65 | FCF | C65 |
| C+70 | Rev | B80 |
| A-90 | D/E | B+85 |
| A95 | P/E or P/S | A-90 |
| B+85 | PEG | B+85 |
| Supplemental signals · feed the score, not on the row card | ||
| A-90 | FCF Yield | B80 |
| B80 | ROE | B+85 |
| 83 | Base composite | 81.7 |
Adjustments (signed deltas applied on top of base)
KFY
analyst consensus bullish (80% buy/strong-buy)+2
covered yield (3.2% at 38% payout)+1
Total+3
MWA
DCF cross-check (avg upside -44%)-1
Total-1
DCF cross-check (per-share value vs. live price)
| KFY upside | Horizon | MWA upside |
|---|---|---|
| +22% | 1Y | -46% |
| +32% | 5Y | -44% |
| +48% | 10Y | -41% |
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.