Reviewing Ducommun (NYSE:DCO) and Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON)

Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ:AXON) and Ducommun (NYSE:DCO) are both aerospace companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Axon Enterprise and Ducommun, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Axon Enterprise	0	4	14	0	2.78
Ducommun	0	1	6	0	2.86

Axon Enterprise presently has a consensus target price of $841.64, indicating a potential upside of 18.54%. Ducommun has a consensus target price of $97.50, indicating a potential upside of 3.26%. Given Axon Enterprise’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Axon Enterprise is more favorable than Ducommun.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Axon Enterprise and Ducommun”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Axon Enterprise	$2.08 billion	26.76	$377.03 million	$4.05	175.31
Ducommun	$786.55 million	1.79	$31.50 million	$2.63	35.90

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

Volatility and Risk

Axon Enterprise has a beta of 1.41, suggesting that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ducommun has a beta of 1.38, suggesting that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Axon Enterprise and Ducommun’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Axon Enterprise	13.64%	6.80%	3.18%
Ducommun	5.03%	7.61%	4.62%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

79.1% of Axon Enterprise shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.2% of Ducommun shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Axon Enterprise shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.9% of Ducommun shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Axon Enterprise beats Ducommun on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Axon Enterprise

Axon Enterprise, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells conducted energy devices (CEDs) under the TASER brand in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software and Sensors, and TASER. The company also offers hardware and cloud-based software solutions that enable law enforcement to capture, securely store, manage, share, and analyze video and other digital evidence. Its products include axon officer safety plan; taser 10, taser7, taser X26P, taser X2, taser 7 CQ, and civilian series; cameras, such as axon body, axon flex, axon fleet, axon air, axon signal sidearm, axon signal vehicle, axon interview, and axon interview portable kit; software, including axon records, evidence, standards, commander, performance, auto-transcribe, justice, investigate, respond, and justice, my90, and redaction assistant; mobile applications, and training services, as well as hardware extended warranties; and Axon docks, cartridges, and batteries. The company sells its products through its direct sales, distribution partners, online store, and third-party resellers. Axon Enterprise, Inc. has a strategic partnership with Fusus, Inc. to expand bility to aggregate live video, data, and sensor feeds. It serves law enforcement, federal, correction, fire, EMS, campus, justice healthcare, retail, private security, and personal safety industries. The company was formerly known as TASER International, Inc. and changed its name to Axon Enterprise, Inc. in April 2017. Axon Enterprise, Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.

About Ducommun

Ducommun Incorporated provides engineering and manufacturing services for products and applications used primarily in the aerospace and defense, industrial, medical, and other industries in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Electronic Systems and Structural Systems. The Electronic Systems segment provides cable assemblies and interconnect systems; printed circuit board assemblies; electronic, electromechanical, and mechanical components and assemblies, as well as lightning diversion systems; and radar enclosures, aircraft avionics racks, shipboard communications and control enclosures, printed circuit board assemblies, cable assemblies, wire harnesses, interconnect systems, lightning diversion strips, surge suppressors, conformal shields, and other assemblies. The segment also supplies engineered products, including illuminated pushbutton switches and panels for aviation and test systems; microwave and millimeter switches and filters for radio frequency systems and test instrumentation; and motors and resolvers for motion control. In addition, this segment provides engineering expertise for aerospace system design, development, integration, and testing. The Structural Systems segment designs, engineers, and manufactures contoured aluminum, titanium, and Inconel aero structure components; structural assembly products, such as winglets, engine components, and fuselage structural panels; aerodynamic systems; and metal and composite bonded structures and assemblies comprising aircraft wing spoilers, large fuselage skins, rotor blades on rotary-wing aircraft and components, flight control surfaces, engine components, ammunition handling systems, and magnetic seals. It serves commercial aircraft, military fixed-wing aircraft, military and commercial rotary-wing aircraft, and space programs, as well as industrial, medical, and other end-use markets. The company was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Santa Ana, California.