Financial Analysis: Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) versus Astrotech (NASDAQ:ASTC)

Astrotech (NASDAQ:ASTC) and Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO) are both small-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Astrotech and Astronics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astrotech	0	0	0	0	0.00
Astronics	0	0	1	0	3.00

Astronics has a consensus price target of $49.00, suggesting a potential upside of 49.34%. Given Astronics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Astronics is more favorable than Astrotech.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

24.4% of Astrotech shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.7% of Astronics shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.9% of Astrotech shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.8% of Astronics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Astrotech and Astronics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astrotech	$1.66 million	5.40	-$11.67 million	($8.42)	-0.63
Astronics	$795.43 million	1.46	-$16.22 million	($0.12)	-273.42

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astrotech	-1,536.99%	-46.37%	-42.51%
Astronics	-0.45%	22.89%	9.16%

Volatility & Risk

Astrotech has a beta of 0.21, indicating that its share price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Astronics has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Astronics beats Astrotech on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Astrotech

Astrotech Corporation operates as a mass spectrometry company worldwide. It owns and licenses the intellectual property related to the Astrotech Mass Spectrometer Technology, a platform mass spectrometry technology. The company also develops TRACER 1000, a mass spectrometer-based explosive trace detector to replace the explosives trace detectors used at airports, cargo and other secured facilities, and borders. In addition, it develops AgLAB-1000, a mass spectrometer for use in the hemp and cannabis market. Further, the company develops BreathTest-1000, a breath analysis tool to screen for volatile organic compound metabolites found in a person's breath. The company was formerly known as SPACEHAB, Inc. and changed its name to Astrotech Corporation in 2009. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is based in Austin, Texas.

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.