Head-To-Head Survey: Mercedes-Benz Group (OTCMKTS:MBGYY) vs. Thor Industries (NYSE:THO)

Mercedes-Benz Group (OTCMKTS:MBGYY) and Thor Industries (NYSE:THO) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.7% of Thor Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.7% of Thor Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mercedes-Benz Group and Thor Industries”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mercedes-Benz Group	$149.55 billion	0.30	$5.82 billion	C$1.55	7.39
Thor Industries	$9.61 billion	0.38	$177.54 million	$3.39	20.67

Mercedes-Benz Group has higher revenue and earnings than Thor Industries. Mercedes-Benz Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Thor Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Mercedes-Benz Group pays an annual dividend of C$0.69 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Thor Industries pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Mercedes-Benz Group pays out 44.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Thor Industries pays out 61.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Thor Industries has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Mercedes-Benz Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

Mercedes-Benz Group has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Thor Industries has a beta of 1.43, indicating that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Mercedes-Benz Group and Thor Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mercedes-Benz Group	0	2	0	4	3.33
Thor Industries	1	9	3	0	2.15

Thor Industries has a consensus target price of $85.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.30%. Given Thor Industries’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Thor Industries is more favorable than Mercedes-Benz Group.

Profitability

This table compares Mercedes-Benz Group and Thor Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mercedes-Benz Group	3.89%	5.41%	1.97%
Thor Industries	1.85%	3.76%	2.30%

Summary

Thor Industries beats Mercedes-Benz Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mercedes-Benz Group

Mercedes-Benz Group AG operates as an automotive company in Germany and internationally. It operates through Mercedes-Benz Cars, Mercedes-Benz Vans, and Mercedes-Benz Mobility segments. The company develops, manufactures, and sells cars and vans under the Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach, G-Class brands, as well as related spare parts and accessories. It also provides financing, leasing, car subscription and rental, fleet management, insurance brokerage, and mobility services, as well as digital services for charging and payment. The company was formerly known as Daimler AG and changed its name to Mercedes-Benz Group AG in February 2022. Mercedes-Benz Group AG was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.

About Thor Industries

THOR Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells recreational vehicles (RVs), and related parts and accessories in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company offers travel trailers; gasoline and diesel Class A, Class B, and Class C motorhomes; conventional travel trailers and fifth wheels; luxury fifth wheels; and motorcaravans, caravans, campervans, and urban vehicles. It also provides aluminum extrusion and specialized component products to RV and other manufacturers. The company provides its products through independent and non-franchise dealers. THOR Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is based in Elkhart, Indiana.