Analyzing Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) and V2X (NYSE:VVX)

V2X (NYSE:VVX) and Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Volatility and Risk

V2X has a beta of 0.17, meaning that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astronics has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.2% of V2X shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.7% of Astronics shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of V2X shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.9% of Astronics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares V2X and Astronics”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
V2X	$4.48 billion	0.52	$77.88 million	$2.90	25.60
Astronics	$862.13 million	3.80	$29.36 million	$1.70	44.86

V2X has higher revenue and earnings than Astronics. V2X is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Astronics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for V2X and Astronics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
V2X	1	7	6	0	2.36
Astronics	1	0	2	3	3.17

V2X presently has a consensus target price of $86.90, indicating a potential upside of 17.05%. Astronics has a consensus target price of $74.17, indicating a potential downside of 2.74%. Given V2X’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe V2X is more favorable than Astronics.

Profitability

This table compares V2X and Astronics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
V2X	1.88%	17.52%	6.00%
Astronics	8.40%	67.69%	14.23%

Summary

Astronics beats V2X on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About V2X

V2X, Inc. provides critical mission solutions and support services to defense clients worldwide. It offers a suite of integrated solutions across the operations and logistics, aerospace, training, and technology markets to national security, defense, civilian, and international clients. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Mclean, Virginia.

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.