Head to Head Comparison: Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) and UFP Technologies (NASDAQ:UFPT)

Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY) and UFP Technologies (NASDAQ:UFPT) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.2% of Avery Dennison shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of UFP Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Avery Dennison shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of UFP Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Avery Dennison has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UFP Technologies has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Avery Dennison and UFP Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avery Dennison	0	5	6	0	2.55
UFP Technologies	0	1	1	0	2.50

Avery Dennison currently has a consensus target price of $197.60, suggesting a potential upside of 18.08%. UFP Technologies has a consensus target price of $252.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.37%. Given Avery Dennison’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Avery Dennison is more favorable than UFP Technologies.

Profitability

This table compares Avery Dennison and UFP Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avery Dennison	8.14%	33.14%	8.91%
UFP Technologies	11.59%	21.27%	12.24%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Avery Dennison and UFP Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avery Dennison	$8.76 billion	1.49	$704.90 million	$8.91	18.78
UFP Technologies	$504.42 million	3.46	$58.98 million	$8.17	27.70

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

Summary

Avery Dennison beats UFP Technologies on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avery Dennison

Avery Dennison Corporation operates as a materials science and digital identification solutions company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, Latin, America, and internationally. It provides pressure-sensitive materials comprising papers, plastic films, metal foils, and fabrics; performance tapes products, including tapes for wire harnessing, as well as cable wrapping for automotive, electrical, and general industrial applications; mechanical fasteners, which are precision-extruded and injection-molded plastic devices used in various automotive, general industrial, and retail applications; and other pressure-sensitive adhesive-based materials and converted products under the Fasson, JAC, Yongle, and Avery Dennison brands. The company also offers graphics and reflective products for the architectural, commercial sign, digital printing, and other related market segments; durable cast and reflective films to the construction, automotive, and fleet transportation market segments; reflective films for traffic and safety applications; and pressure-sensitive vinyl and specialty materials designed for digital imaging, screen printing, and sign cutting applications under the Avery Dennison and Mactac brand names. In addition, it provides branding solutions include brand embellishments, graphic tickets, tags, and labels, and sustainable packaging; and information solutions include item-level RFID, visibility and loss prevention, price ticketing and marking, productivity and media solutions, and brand protection and security solutions, as well as care, content, and country of origin compliance solutions. It serves home and personal care, apparel, e-commerce, logistics, food and grocery, pharmaceuticals, and automotive industries. The company was formerly known as Avery International Corporation and changed its name to Avery Dennison Corporation in 1990. Avery Dennison Corporation was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Mentor, Ohio.

About UFP Technologies

UFP Technologies, Inc. designs and manufactures solutions for medical devices, sterile packaging, and other highly engineered custom products. The company offers protective drapes for robotic surgery, single patient use surfaces, advanced wound care, infection prevention, disposables for surgical and endoscopic procedures, packaging for medical devices, orthopedic implants, biopharma drug manufacturing, and coils for catheters; and molded components for applications in acoustic insulation, interior trim, load floors, sunshades, SUV cargo cover handles, driveshaft damping, engine and manifold covers, quarter panels, and wheel liners. It also provides molded composites for commercial aviation and military gear for use in backpack components, knee and elbow pads, eyewear, and helmets; and reusable cases and custom for applications in military ballistics panels, virtual training systems, drones, communications equipment, and rugged portable computers. In addition, the company provides engineered products and components to customers in the automotive, aerospace and defense, and industrial markets for applications in military uniform and gear components, automotive interior trim, air filtration, and protective cases and inserts. It markets and sells its products through a direct sales force. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Newburyport, Massachusetts.