Financial Contrast: Astronics (OTCMKTS:ATROB) versus Transdigm Group (NYSE:TDG)

Astronics (OTCMKTS:ATROB) and Transdigm Group (NYSE:TDG) are both aerospace companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.8% of Transdigm Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.0% of Astronics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Transdigm Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Astronics has a beta of 1.51, indicating that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Transdigm Group has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Astronics and Transdigm Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Astronics	$795.43 million	2.18	-$16.22 million	($0.12)	-407.50
Transdigm Group	$7.94 billion	9.25	$1.71 billion	$30.13	43.26

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

Profitability

This table compares Astronics and Transdigm Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Astronics	-0.45%	22.89%	9.16%
Transdigm Group	20.98%	-35.27%	8.92%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Astronics and Transdigm Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Astronics	0	0	0	0	0.00
Transdigm Group	0	5	12	0	2.71

Transdigm Group has a consensus price target of $1,564.56, indicating a potential upside of 20.02%. Given Transdigm Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Transdigm Group is more favorable than Astronics.

Summary

Transdigm Group beats Astronics on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Astronics

Astronics Corporation, through its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products for the aerospace, defense, and electronics industries in the United States, rest of North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Test Systems. The Aerospace segment offers lighting and safety systems, electrical power generation systems, distribution and seat motions systems, aircraft structures, avionics products, system certification, and other products. This segment serves airframe manufacturers (OEM) that build aircraft for the commercial, military, and general aviation markets; suppliers to OEMs; and aircraft operators, such as airlines; suppliers to the aircraft operators; and branches of the U.S. Department of Defense. The Test Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, and maintains automated test systems that support the aerospace and defense, and mass transit industries, as well as training and simulation devices for commercial and military applications. It serves OEMs and prime government contractors for electronics and military products. Astronics Corporation was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in East Aurora, New York.

About Transdigm Group

TransDigm Group Incorporated designs, produces, and supplies aircraft components in the United States and internationally. The Power & Control segment offers mechanical/electro-mechanical actuators and controls, ignition systems and engine technology, specialized pumps and valves, power conditioning devices, specialized AC/DC electric motors and generators, batteries and chargers, databus and power controls, sensor products, switches and relay panels, hoists, winches and lifting devices, and cargo loading and handling systems. This segment serves engine and power system and subsystem suppliers, airlines, third party maintenance suppliers, military buying agencies, and repair depots. The Airframe segment provides engineered latching and locking devices, engineered rods, engineered connectors and elastomer sealing solutions, cockpit security components and systems, cockpit displays, engineered audio, radio and antenna systems, lavatory components, seat belts and safety restraints, engineered and customized interior surfaces and related components, thermal protection and insulation products, lighting and control technology, and parachutes. This segment serves airframe manufacturers, cabin system and subsystem suppliers, airlines, third party maintenance suppliers, military buying agencies, and repair depots. The Non-aviation segment offers seat belts and safety restraints for ground transportation applications; electro-mechanical actuators for space applications; hydraulic/electromechanical actuators and fuel valves for land-based gas turbines; refueling systems for heavy equipment used in mining, construction, and other industries; and turbine controls for the energy and oil and gas markets. This segment serves off-road vehicle and subsystem suppliers, child restraint system suppliers, and satellite and space system suppliers; and manufacturers of heavy equipment. TransDigm Group Incorporated was founded in 1993 and is based in Cleveland, Ohio.