Comparing Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) and Frontier Group (NASDAQ:ULCC)

Frontier Group (NASDAQ:ULCC) and Bristow Group (NYSE:VTOL) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.3% of Bristow Group shares are held by institutional investors. 48.0% of Frontier Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.4% of Bristow Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Frontier Group and Bristow Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Frontier Group	$3.78 billion	0.32	$85.00 million	($0.61)	-8.59
Bristow Group	$1.42 billion	0.89	$94.80 million	$4.78	9.15

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

Risk & Volatility

Frontier Group has a beta of 2.55, suggesting that its share price is 155% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bristow Group has a beta of 1.39, suggesting that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Frontier Group and Bristow Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Frontier Group	2	5	2	0	2.00
Bristow Group	0	0	2	0	3.00

Frontier Group presently has a consensus target price of $6.38, indicating a potential upside of 21.66%. Given Frontier Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Frontier Group is more favorable than Bristow Group.

Profitability

This table compares Frontier Group and Bristow Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Frontier Group	-3.65%	-25.73%	-2.10%
Bristow Group	9.71%	14.83%	6.43%

Summary

Bristow Group beats Frontier Group on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Frontier Group

Frontier Group Holdings, Inc., provides low-fare passenger airline services to leisure travelers in the United States and Latin America. The company sells its products through direct distribution channels, including its website, mobile app, and contact centers. As of December 31, 2023, it had a fleet of 136 Airbus single-aisle aircrafts. Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Bristow Group

Bristow Group Inc. provides vertical flight solutions. The company primarily offers aviation services to integrated, national, and independent offshore energy companies and government agencies. It also provides personnel transportation, search and rescue, medevac, ad hoc helicopter, fixed wing transportation, unmanned systems, and ad-hoc helicopter services, as well as logistical and maintenance support, training services, and flight and maintenance crews. The company has a fleet of aircrafts. It has customers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dutch Caribbean, the Falkland Islands, India, Ireland, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad, the United Kingdom, and United States. Bristow Group Inc. is based in Houston, Texas.