Comparing Nikon (OTCMKTS:NINOY) & Jabil (NYSE:JBL)

Nikon (OTCMKTS:NINOY) and Jabil (NYSE:JBL) are both technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Nikon and Jabil”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nikon	$4.50 billion	0.81	-$568.18 million	($1.87)	-5.95
Jabil	$33.59 billion	0.95	$657.00 million	$8.01	37.91

Jabil has higher revenue and earnings than Nikon. Nikon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Jabil, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Nikon has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Jabil has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Nikon and Jabil, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nikon	0	1	0	0	2.00
Jabil	0	1	8	1	3.00

Jabil has a consensus price target of $441.78, indicating a potential upside of 45.48%. Given Jabil’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Jabil is more favorable than Nikon.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Nikon shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.4% of Jabil shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Jabil shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Nikon and Jabil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nikon	-13.88%	-15.50%	-8.46%
Jabil	2.57%	83.93%	5.65%

Dividends

Nikon pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Jabil pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. Nikon pays out -5.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Jabil pays out 4.0% 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. Nikon is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Jabil beats Nikon on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nikon

Nikon Corporation manufactures and sells optical instruments in Japan, North America, Europe, China, Thailand, and internationally. It operates through Imaging Products Business, Precision Equipment Business, Healthcare Business, Components Business, and Industrial equipment and Others segments. The Imaging Products Business segment provides digital SLR cameras, compact digital cameras, and interchangeable camera lenses. The Precision Equipment Business segment offers FPD lithography systems and semiconductor lithography systems. The Healthcare Business segment provides biological microscopes, cell culture observation systems, and ultra-wide field retinal imaging devices, as well as products and services related to the contract cell development and manufacturing field. The Components Business segment offers optical components, optical parts, encoders, and material processing products and services; EUV-related components and space-related solutions; and photomask substrates for FPDs. The Industrial equipment and Others segment provides industrial microscopes, non-contact 3D metrology systems, measuring instruments, X-ray/CT inspection systems, and surveying instruments. In addition, it sells used equipment; provides maintenance services for FPD/semiconductor lithography systems; sells and services cameras, microscopes, measuring instruments, and X-ray inspection equipment; and develops and supports computer software. Further, the company is involved in the procurement, logistics, and welfare activities; development, manufacturing, and testing services for eyeglass and lenses; and assembly of camera units. Nikon Corporation was incorporated in 1917 and is headquartered in Minato, Japan.

About Jabil

Jabil Inc. provides manufacturing services and solutions worldwide. It operates in two segments, Electronics Manufacturing Services and Diversified Manufacturing Services. The company offers electronics design, production, and product management services; electronic circuit design services, such as application-specific integrated circuit design, firmware development, and rapid prototyping services; and designs plastic and metal enclosures that include the electro-mechanics, such as the printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA). It also provides three-dimensional mechanical design comprising the analysis of electronic, electro-mechanical, and optical assemblies, as well as various industrial design, mechanism development, and tooling management services. In addition, the company provides computer-assisted design services consisting of PCBA design, as well as PCBA design validation and verification services; and other consulting services, such as the generation of a bill of materials, approved vendor list, and assembly equipment configuration for various PCBA designs. Further, it offers product and process validation services, such as product system, product safety, regulatory compliance, and reliability tests, as well as manufacturing test solution development services. Additionally, the company provides systems assembly, test, direct-order fulfillment, and configure-to-order services. It serves 5G, wireless and cloud, digital print and retail, industrial and semi-cap, networking and storage, automotive and transportation, connected devices, healthcare and packaging, and mobility industries. The company was formerly known as Jabil Circuit, Inc. and changed its name to Jabil Inc. in June 2017. Jabil Inc. was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Saint Petersburg, Florida.