Critical Review: MKS (MKSI) versus Its Peers

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) is one of 221 public companies in the “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare MKS to similar businesses based on the strength of its risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

MKS has a beta of 2.14, indicating that its stock price is 114% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MKS’s competitors have a beta of 2.80, indicating that their average stock price is 180% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares MKS and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
MKS	$3.93 billion	$295.00 million	26.53
MKS Competitors	$39.42 billion	$2.53 billion	9.68

MKS’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than MKS. MKS is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares MKS and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MKS	12.64%	28.77%	9.51%
MKS Competitors	-1,266.87%	-126.22%	-3.89%

Dividends

MKS pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. MKS pays out 11.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies pay a dividend yield of 0.9% and pay out 28.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for MKS and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MKS	1	2	11	1	2.80
MKS Competitors	3513	12379	25822	1002	2.57

MKS currently has a consensus price target of $366.77, indicating a potential upside of 63.96%. As a group, “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies have a potential upside of 37.84%. Given MKS’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe MKS is more favorable than its competitors.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

99.8% of MKS shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.8% of shares of all “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of MKS shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.5% of shares of all “Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

MKS beats its competitors on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Inc. develops technologies used to manufacture semiconductor devices and other advanced products. Its offerings include instruments, components, subsystems and systems that measure and control pressure, gas flow, gas composition, power and other process conditions. The company also provides laser and photonics technologies, motion-control solutions, and specialty chemicals and plating equipment. These products support semiconductor fabrication and packaging, electronics manufacturing, life sciences and a range of industrial applications.