Contrasting Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) and Highway (NASDAQ:HIHO)

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) and Highway (NASDAQ:HIHO) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Century Aluminum and Highway’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Century Aluminum	4.94%	18.02%	6.21%
Highway	1.43%	1.63%	1.01%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.6% of Century Aluminum shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.2% of Highway shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Century Aluminum shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 32.1% of Highway shares are held by 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 and Risk

Century Aluminum has a beta of 2.53, meaning that its stock price is 153% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Highway has a beta of 0.2, meaning that its stock price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Century Aluminum and Highway”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Century Aluminum	$2.22 billion	0.98	$336.80 million	$1.16	20.05
Highway	$7.41 million	0.94	$110,000.00	$0.02	79.25

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Century Aluminum and Highway, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Century Aluminum	0	0	3	0	3.00
Highway	0	0	0	0	0.00

Century Aluminum currently has a consensus price target of $24.6667, indicating a potential upside of 6.05%. Given Century Aluminum’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Century Aluminum is more favorable than Highway.

Summary

Century Aluminum beats Highway on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Century Aluminum

Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products in the United States and Iceland. It also owns and operates an alumina production facility in Iceland, and a carbon anode production facility in the Netherlands. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About Highway

Highway Holdings Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and supplies metal, plastic, electric, and electronic components, subassemblies, and finished products for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and contract manufacturers. It operates through two segments, Metal Stamping and Mechanical OEM; and Electric OEM. The company also trades in plastic injection products; and manufactures and assembles automation equipment. Its products are used in the manufacture of products, such as photocopiers, laser printers, print cartridges, electrical connectors, electrical circuits, vacuum cleaners, LED power supplies, stepping motors, pumps for dishwashers, and other washing machine components. In addition, the company assists customers in the design and development of the tooling used in the metal and plastic manufacturing process, as well as provides an array of other manufacturing and engineering services, including metal stamping, screen printing, plastic injection molding, pad printing, and electronic assembly of printed circuit boards. It operates in Hong Kong and China, Europe, North America, and other Asian countries. Highway Holdings Limited was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Sheung Shui, Hong Kong.