Contrasting Vestas Wind Systems AS (OTCMKTS:VWDRY) and Murata Manufacturing (OTCMKTS:MRAAY)

Vestas Wind Systems AS (OTCMKTS:VWDRY) and Murata Manufacturing (OTCMKTS:MRAAY) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Vestas Wind Systems AS and Murata Manufacturing’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vestas Wind Systems AS	4.08%	23.25%	3.06%
Murata Manufacturing	12.51%	8.51%	7.28%

Risk and Volatility

Vestas Wind Systems AS has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Murata Manufacturing has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.8% of Murata Manufacturing shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vestas Wind Systems AS and Murata Manufacturing”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vestas Wind Systems AS	$18.72 billion	1.06	$539.97 million	$0.27	24.30
Murata Manufacturing	$11.45 billion	2.74	$1.54 billion	$0.39	21.59

Murata Manufacturing has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Vestas Wind Systems AS. Murata Manufacturing is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vestas Wind Systems AS, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Vestas Wind Systems AS and Murata Manufacturing, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vestas Wind Systems AS	1	2	1	1	2.40
Murata Manufacturing	0	0	0	0	0.00

Dividends

Vestas Wind Systems AS pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Murata Manufacturing pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Vestas Wind Systems AS pays out 7.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Murata Manufacturing pays out 35.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Vestas Wind Systems AS beats Murata Manufacturing on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vestas Wind Systems AS

Vestas Wind Systems A/S engages in the design, manufacture, installation, and services of wind turbines the United States, Denmark, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Power Solutions and Service. The Power Solutions segment offers onshore and offshore wind power plants, wind turbines, development sites, etc. The Service segment engages in the sale of service contracts, spare parts, and related activities. Vestas Wind Systems A/S was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark.

About Murata Manufacturing

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. designs, manufactures, and sells ceramic-based passive electronic components and solutions in Japan and internationally. The company offers capacitors, inductors, noise suppression products/EMI suppression filters/ESD protection devices, resistors, thermistors, sensors, timing devices, quartz devices, sound components, power products, batteries, micro mechatronics, RFID product, baluns, couplers, filters, phase shifters, RF switches, front-end modules, SAW components, connectors, antennas, connectivity modules, wireless connectivity platforms, ionizers/active oxygen modules, and transformers. It also offers Femtet, a CAE software that solves various engineering challenges; and provides silver oxide battery. In addition, the company provides connectivity, Wifi sensing, IOT, AI, and RFID solutions. Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. offers its products for use in communications equipment, mobility, enterprise system, industrial, healthcare, medical, personal electronics applications, and other sectors. The company was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Nagaokakyo, Japan.