Head-To-Head Comparison: Saker Aviation Services (OTCMKTS:SKAS) versus Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ:MESA)

Saker Aviation Services (OTCMKTS:SKAS) and Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ:MESA) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Saker Aviation Services and Mesa Air Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Saker Aviation Services	6.08%	3.44%	3.15%
Mesa Air Group	-43.65%	-1,171.23%	-2.14%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Saker Aviation Services and Mesa Air Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Saker Aviation Services	0	0	0	0	0.00
Mesa Air Group	1	0	0	0	1.00

Institutional & Insider Ownership

37.3% of Saker Aviation Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.3% of Mesa Air Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 34.6% of Saker Aviation Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Mesa Air Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Saker Aviation Services and Mesa Air Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Saker Aviation Services	$9.17 million	0.76	$1.25 million	$0.31	22.58
Mesa Air Group	$476.41 million	0.11	-$91.01 million	($4.29)	-0.29

Saker Aviation Services has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Mesa Air Group. Mesa Air Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Saker Aviation Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Saker Aviation Services has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mesa Air Group has a beta of 3.03, meaning that its stock price is 203% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Saker Aviation Services beats Mesa Air Group on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Saker Aviation Services

Saker Aviation Services, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates in the aviation services segment of the general aviation industry in the United States. It serves as the operator of a Downtown Manhattan (New York) Heliport. The company was formerly known as FirstFlight, Inc. and changed its name to Saker Aviation Services, Inc. in September 2009. Saker Aviation Services, Inc. is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Mesa Air Group

Mesa Air Group, Inc. operates as the holding company for Mesa Airlines, Inc. that provides regional air carrier scheduled passenger services. The company offers scheduled flight and cargo services. As of September 30, 2023, it operated a fleet of 80 aircraft with approximately 296 daily departures to 86 cities in the United States and Mexico. Mesa Air Group, Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.