Comparing Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) & AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) and AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) are both large-cap aerospace companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Woodward has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AeroVironment has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

81.2% of Woodward shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of AeroVironment shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Woodward shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of AeroVironment shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Woodward and AeroVironment”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Woodward	$3.32 billion	4.42	$372.97 million	$6.32	38.75
AeroVironment	$820.63 million	14.31	$43.62 million	$1.55	151.73

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Woodward and AeroVironment, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Woodward	0	5	5	0	2.50
AeroVironment	0	0	16	3	3.16

Woodward presently has a consensus price target of $249.6250, indicating a potential upside of 1.92%. AeroVironment has a consensus price target of $286.4615, indicating a potential upside of 21.81%. Given AeroVironment’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe AeroVironment is more favorable than Woodward.

Profitability

This table compares Woodward and AeroVironment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Woodward	11.32%	16.57%	8.53%
AeroVironment	5.32%	10.68%	8.80%

Summary

AeroVironment beats Woodward on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Woodward

Woodward, Inc. designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft. These products are used on commercial and private aircraft and rotorcraft, as well as on military fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft, guided weapons, and other defense systems. It also provides aftermarket maintenance, repair and overhaul, and other services to commercial airlines, repair facilities, military depots, third party repair shops, and other end users. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), tier-one suppliers, and contractors, as well as through aftermarket sales of components, such as provisioning spares and replacements. The Industrial segment offers actuators, valves, pumps, fuel injection systems, solenoids, ignition systems, speed controls, electronics and software, and sensors. These products are used on industrial gas turbines, steam turbines, compressors, and reciprocating engines. This segment sells its aftermarket products, and other related services to OEMs through an independent network of distributors, as well as directly to end users. The company was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc. designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments. The company supplies UAS, TMS, unmanned ground vehicle, and related services primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and to international allied governments. It also designs, engineers, tools, and manufactures unmanned aerial and aircraft systems, including airborne platforms, payloads and payload integration, ground control systems, and ground support equipment and other items and services related to unmanned aircraft systems. In addition, the company offers small UAS products, including training, spare parts, product repair, product replacement, and the customer contracted operation. Further, it develops high-altitude pseudo-satellite UAS systems. AeroVironment, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.