Reviewing Conrad Industries (OTCMKTS:CNRD) and Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE)

Conrad Industries (OTCMKTS:CNRD) and Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) are both small-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.6% of Conrad Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.6% of Virgin Galactic shares are held by institutional investors. 31.5% of Conrad Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Virgin Galactic shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Conrad Industries and Virgin Galactic, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Conrad Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00
Virgin Galactic	1	2	1	0	2.00

Virgin Galactic has a consensus target price of $4.8125, indicating a potential upside of 21.22%. Given Virgin Galactic’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Virgin Galactic is more favorable than Conrad Industries.

Profitability

This table compares Conrad Industries and Virgin Galactic’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Conrad Industries	4.28%	16.87%	9.38%
Virgin Galactic	-5,972.70%	-97.17%	-33.39%

Volatility and Risk

Conrad Industries has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Virgin Galactic has a beta of 2.01, indicating that its stock price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Conrad Industries and Virgin Galactic”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Conrad Industries	$303.41 million	0.30	$11.23 million	($0.34)	-53.72
Virgin Galactic	$7.04 million	23.45	-$346.74 million	($11.93)	-0.33

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

About Conrad Industries

Conrad Industries, Inc. engages in the construction, conversion, and repair of various steel and aluminum marine vessels in the United States. The company builds harbor tugs; specialty barges, such as crane, deck, ABS class, dry bulk cargo, aggregate, and well stim barges; inland tank, LPG inland tank, LPG pressure, LPG tank, and DS tank barges; and offshore support vessels, including liftboats, crew boats, offshore supply vessels, and offshore tugs, as well as other support equipment, such as deck and crane barges. It also builds inland pushboats comprising inland towboats, inland river push boats, and towboats; and ferries, which consist of passenger, and passenger and vehicle ferries. In addition, the company offers repairs and conversions, including electrical, mechanical, propulsion, and hull repairs to large-scale conversions of ships and barges; and engages in the fabrication of modular components for offshore floating production, storage, and offloading vessels, as well as drilling rigs. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Morgan City, Louisiana.

About Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc., an aerospace and space travel company, focuses on the development, manufacture, and operation of spaceships and related technologies. The company engages in the design and development, manufacturing, ground and flight testing, spaceflight operation, and post-flight maintenance of spaceflight systems for private individuals, researchers, and government agencies. Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. is headquartered in Tustin, California.