Comparing LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII) & Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI)

LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII) and Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI) are both mid-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

LCI Industries has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hesai Group has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.7% of LCI Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.5% of Hesai Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.5% of LCI Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares LCI Industries and Hesai Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LCI Industries	4.49%	12.60%	5.62%
Hesai Group	15.70%	8.04%	5.94%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for LCI Industries and Hesai Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LCI Industries	0	7	1	0	2.13
Hesai Group	0	1	5	2	3.13

LCI Industries presently has a consensus target price of $128.50, suggesting a potential downside of 12.62%. Hesai Group has a consensus target price of $30.80, suggesting a potential upside of 10.24%. Given Hesai Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hesai Group is more favorable than LCI Industries.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares LCI Industries and Hesai Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LCI Industries	$3.74 billion	0.95	$142.87 million	$7.15	20.57
Hesai Group	$2.75 billion	1.33	-$14.02 million	$0.42	66.52

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

Summary

Hesai Group beats LCI Industries on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LCI Industries

LCI Industries, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and supplies engineered components for the manufacturers of recreational vehicles (RVs) and adjacent industries in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and Aftermarket. The OEM segment manufactures and distributes a range of engineered components, such as steel chassis and related components; axles, ABS, and suspension solutions; slide-out mechanisms and solutions; thermoformed bath, kitchen, and other products; vinyl, aluminum, and frameless windows; manual, electric, and hydraulic stabilizer and leveling systems; entry, luggage, patio, and ramp doors; furniture and mattresses; electric and manual entry steps; awnings and awning accessories; electronic components; appliances; air conditioners; televisions and sound systems; tankless water heaters; towing products; truck accessories; and other accessories. This segment serves OEMs of RVs and adjacent industries, including buses; trailers used to haul boats, livestock, equipment, and other cargo; trucks; boats; trains; manufactured homes; and modular housing. The Aftermarket segment supplies engineered components to aftermarket channels of the recreation and transportation markets for retail dealers, wholesale distributors, and service centers, as well as direct to retail customers through the Internet. This segment also sells replacement glass and awnings to fulfill insurance claims; and biminis, covers, buoys, fenders to the marine industry, towing products, truck accessories, appliances, air conditioners, televisions, sound systems, and tankless water heaters. The company was formerly known as Drew Industries Incorporated and changed its name to LCI Industries in December 2016. LCI Industries was founded in 1956 and is based in Elkhart, Indiana.

About Hesai Group

Hesai Group, through with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of three-dimensional light detection and ranging solutions (LiDAR). Its LiDAR products are used in passenger and commercial vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems; autonomous passenger and freight mobility services; and other applications, such as delivery robots, street sweeping robots, and logistics robots in restricted areas. Hesai Group was founded in 2014 and is based in Shanghai, China.