Comparing Elio Motors (OTCMKTS:ELIO) and Polaris (NYSE:PII)

Elio Motors (OTCMKTS:ELIO) and Polaris (NYSE:PII) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Elio Motors and Polaris, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Elio Motors	0	0	0	0	0.00
Polaris	1	12	1	0	2.00

Polaris has a consensus target price of $48.33, indicating a potential downside of 14.57%. Given Polaris’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Polaris is more favorable than Elio Motors.

Profitability

This table compares Elio Motors and Polaris’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Elio Motors	N/A	N/A	N/A
Polaris	-1.57%	5.16%	1.19%

Volatility & Risk

Elio Motors has a beta of 14.43, suggesting that its stock price is 1,343% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Polaris has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Elio Motors and Polaris”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Elio Motors	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Polaris	$7.18 billion	0.44	$110.80 million	($1.88)	-30.09

Polaris has higher revenue and earnings than Elio Motors.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.1% of Polaris shares are owned by institutional investors. 81.4% of Elio Motors shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Polaris shares are owned 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.

Summary

Polaris beats Elio Motors on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Elio Motors

Elio Motors, Inc., a development stage company, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells automobiles. The company focuses on developing the Elio, a three wheeled vehicle for mass production in the United States, which gives 84 miles per gallon. Elio Motors, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is based in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Polaris

Polaris Inc. designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets powersports vehicles in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Off-Road, On-Road, and Marine. The company offers off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles; military and commercial ORVs; snowmobiles; motorcycles; and moto-roadsters, quadricycles, and boats. It also provides ORV accessories comprising winches, bumper/brushguards, plows, racks, wheels and tires, pull-behinds, cab systems, lighting and audio systems, cargo box accessories, tracks, and oil; snowmobile accessories, which include covers, traction products, reverse kits, electric starters, tracks, bags, windshields, oil, and lubricants; and motorcycle accessories, such as saddle bags, handlebars, backrests, exhausts, windshields, seats, oil, and various chrome accessories. In addition, the company offers light duty hauling and passenger vehicles; gear and apparel, such as helmets, goggles, jackets, gloves, boots, bibs, hats, pants, and leathers; and pontoon and deck boats. The company provides its products through dealers and distributors, and online; and retail and e-commerce marketplaces. The company was formerly known as Polaris Industries Inc. Polaris Inc. was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Medina, Minnesota.