Reviewing Surf Air Mobility (NYSE:SRFM) and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL)

Surf Air Mobility (NYSE:SRFM) and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Surf Air Mobility and United Airlines’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Surf Air Mobility	-53.48%	N/A	-46.15%
United Airlines	5.64%	26.94%	4.70%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Surf Air Mobility and United Airlines, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Surf Air Mobility	1	1	2	0	2.25
United Airlines	0	2	13	2	3.00

Surf Air Mobility presently has a consensus target price of $6.58, suggesting a potential upside of 117.63%. United Airlines has a consensus target price of $124.93, suggesting a potential upside of 31.57%. Given Surf Air Mobility’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Surf Air Mobility is more favorable than United Airlines.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Surf Air Mobility and United Airlines”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Surf Air Mobility	$119.43 million	1.08	-$74.91 million	($2.78)	-1.09
United Airlines	$58.37 billion	0.53	$3.15 billion	$9.98	9.51

United Airlines has higher revenue and earnings than Surf Air Mobility. Surf Air Mobility is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Airlines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Surf Air Mobility has a beta of 2.85, suggesting that its stock price is 185% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Airlines has a beta of 1.45, suggesting that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

17.7% of Surf Air Mobility shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.7% of United Airlines shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.0% of Surf Air Mobility shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of United Airlines shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

United Airlines beats Surf Air Mobility on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Surf Air Mobility

Surf Air Mobility Inc. operates as an electric aviation and air travel company in the United States. The company offers an air mobility platform with scheduled routes and on demand charter flights operated by third parties. Surf Air Mobility Inc. is headquartered in Hawthorne, California.

About United Airlines

United Airlines Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America. The company transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional fleets. It also offers catering, ground handling, flight academy, and maintenance services for third parties. The company was formerly known as United Continental Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to United Airlines Holdings, Inc. in June 2019. United Airlines Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.