Analyzing Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) and V2X (NYSE:VVX)

V2X (NYSE:VVX) and Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for V2X and Crane NXT, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
V2X	1	5	6	1	2.54
Crane NXT	0	2	4	1	2.86

V2X presently has a consensus price target of $82.10, suggesting a potential downside of 8.98%. Crane NXT has a consensus price target of $65.40, suggesting a potential upside of 25.81%. Given Crane NXT’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Crane NXT is more favorable than V2X.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares V2X and Crane NXT”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
V2X	$4.48 billion	0.63	$77.88 million	$2.79	32.33
Crane NXT	$1.71 billion	1.75	$145.10 million	$2.24	23.21

Crane NXT has lower revenue, but higher earnings than V2X. Crane NXT is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than V2X, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares V2X and Crane NXT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
V2X	1.88%	16.94%	5.74%
Crane NXT	7.57%	19.59%	7.59%

Volatility and Risk

V2X has a beta of 0.21, indicating that its share price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Crane NXT has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.2% of V2X shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.5% of Crane NXT shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of V2X shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Crane NXT shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Crane NXT beats V2X on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About V2X

V2X, Inc. provides critical mission solutions and support services to defense clients worldwide. It offers a suite of integrated solutions across the operations and logistics, aerospace, training, and technology markets to national security, defense, civilian, and international clients. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Mclean, Virginia.

About Crane NXT

Crane NXT, Co. operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers’ important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions. The Crane Currency segment provides advanced security solutions based on proprietary technology for securing physical products, including banknotes, consumer goods, and industrial products. Crane NXT, Co. was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.