Critical Survey: Coda Octopus Group (NASDAQ:CODA) vs. Heico (NYSE:HEI.A)

Heico (NYSE:HEI.A) and Coda Octopus Group (NASDAQ:CODA) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Heico and Coda Octopus Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heico	0	0	0	2	4.00
Coda Octopus Group	0	1	2	0	2.67

Coda Octopus Group has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 32.33%. Given Coda Octopus Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Coda Octopus Group is more favorable than Heico.

Profitability

This table compares Heico and Coda Octopus Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heico	16.38%	18.00%	9.15%
Coda Octopus Group	17.64%	8.32%	7.58%

Risk and Volatility

Heico has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Coda Octopus Group has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

59.0% of Heico shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.1% of Coda Octopus Group shares are held by institutional investors. 9.8% of Heico shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.5% of Coda Octopus Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Heico and Coda Octopus Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heico	$5.18 billion	6.03	$690.39 million	$6.01	37.15
Coda Octopus Group	$26.56 million	4.49	$4.13 million	$0.44	24.05

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

Summary

Heico beats Coda Octopus Group on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Heico

HEICO Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells aerospace, defense, and electronic related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company's Flight Support Group segment provides jet engine and aircraft component replacement parts; thermal insulation blankets and parts; renewable/reusable insulation systems; and specialty components. This segment also distributes hydraulic, pneumatic, structural, interconnect, mechanical, and electro-mechanical components for the commercial, regional, and general aviation markets; and offers repair and overhaul services for jet engine and aircraft component parts, avionics, instruments, composites, and flight surfaces of commercial aircraft, as well as for avionics and navigation systems, subcomponents, and other instruments utilized on military aircraft. Its Electronic Technologies Group segment provides electro-optical infrared simulation and test equipment; electro-optical laser products; electro-optical, microwave, and other power equipment; electromagnetic and radio interference shielding and suppression filters; high-speed interface products; high voltage interconnection devices; high voltage advanced power electronics; power conversion products; and underwater locator beacons and emergency locator transmission beacons. This segment also offers traveling wave tube amplifiers and microwave power modules; three-dimensional microelectronic and stacked memory products; harsh environment connectivity products and custom molded cable assemblies; radio frequency and microwave amplifiers, transmitters, and receivers; communications and electronic intercept receivers and tuners; self-sealing auxiliary fuel systems; active antenna systems; and nuclear radiation detectors. The company serves customers primarily in the aviation, defense, space, medical, telecommunications, and electronics industries. HEICO Corporation was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Hollywood, Florida.

About Coda Octopus Group

Coda Octopus Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, sells, and rentals underwater technologies and equipment for real time 3D imaging, mapping, defense, and survey applications in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through two segments, Marine Engineering Business and Marine Technology Business. The company's solutions include geophysical systems; GNSS-aided navigation systems (attitude and positioning systems); real time volumetric imaging sonar products; and diver augmented vision display systems. It also offers GeoSurvey, a software and hardware package for acquisition and processing of sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data in oil and gas companies; DA4G, a geophysical hardware; and Survey Engine, a software product that provides post-processing solutions for sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data. In addition, the company offers 3D/4D/5D/6D imaging sonar technology under the Echoscope and Echoscope PIPE name; diving technology under the CodaOctopus DAVD; and operates as a sub-contractor for defense contractors, as well as supplies sub-assemblies for broader mission critical defense systems. It markets and sells its technology solutions for the subsea and underwater markets. Coda Octopus Group, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.