Contrasting Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) and Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO)

Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) and Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) are both aerospace companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Astronics and Woodward’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astronics	-0.43%	18.45%	7.29%
Woodward	11.36%	16.86%	8.58%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

56.7% of Astronics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Woodward shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.8% of Astronics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Woodward shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Astronics and Woodward, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astronics	0	1	0	0	2.00
Woodward	0	3	5	0	2.63

Astronics presently has a consensus target price of $32.00, indicating a potential downside of 2.63%. Woodward has a consensus target price of $228.88, indicating a potential downside of 6.92%. Given Astronics’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Astronics is more favorable than Woodward.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Astronics and Woodward”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astronics	$795.43 million	1.46	-$16.22 million	($0.12)	-273.88
Woodward	$3.32 billion	4.39	$372.97 million	$6.19	39.73

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

Risk & Volatility

Astronics has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Woodward has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Woodward beats Astronics on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Astronics

Astronics Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products for the aerospace, defense, and electronics industries in the United States, rest of North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Test Systems. The Aerospace segment offers lighting and safety systems, electrical power generation systems, distribution and seat motions systems, aircraft structures, avionics products, system certification, and other products. This segment serves airframe manufacturers (OEM) that build aircraft for the commercial, military, and general aviation markets; suppliers to OEMs; and aircraft operators, such as airlines; suppliers to the aircraft operators; and branches of the U.S. Department of Defense. The Test Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, and maintains automated test systems that support the aerospace and defense, and mass transit industries, as well as training and simulation devices for commercial and military applications. It serves OEMs and prime government contractors for electronics and military products. Astronics Corporation was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in East Aurora, New York.

About Woodward

Woodward, Inc. designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft. These products are used on commercial and private aircraft and rotorcraft, as well as on military fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft, guided weapons, and other defense systems. It also provides aftermarket maintenance, repair and overhaul, and other services to commercial airlines, repair facilities, military depots, third party repair shops, and other end users. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), tier-one suppliers, and contractors, as well as through aftermarket sales of components, such as provisioning spares and replacements. The Industrial segment offers actuators, valves, pumps, fuel injection systems, solenoids, ignition systems, speed controls, electronics and software, and sensors. These products are used on industrial gas turbines, steam turbines, compressors, and reciprocating engines. This segment sells its aftermarket products, and other related services to OEMs through an independent network of distributors, as well as directly to end users. The company was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado.