Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) & Wabash National (NYSE:WNC) Head to Head Contrast

Wabash National (NYSE:WNC) and Autoliv (NYSE:ALV) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.1% of Wabash National shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.6% of Autoliv shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of Wabash National shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Autoliv shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Wabash National and Autoliv’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Wabash National	-6.38%	-7.91%	-1.65%
Autoliv	7.09%	31.22%	9.20%

Dividends

Wabash National pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Autoliv pays an annual dividend of $3.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Wabash National pays out 5.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Autoliv pays out 36.0% 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. Autoliv has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Wabash National is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Wabash National and Autoliv, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Wabash National	1	2	0	0	1.67
Autoliv	0	6	10	2	2.78

Wabash National currently has a consensus price target of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.35%. Autoliv has a consensus price target of $128.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.08%. Given Wabash National’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Wabash National is more favorable than Autoliv.

Risk and Volatility

Wabash National has a beta of 1.73, meaning that its stock price is 73% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Autoliv has a beta of 1.35, meaning that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Wabash National and Autoliv”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Wabash National	$1.64 billion	0.19	-$284.07 million	$6.08	1.27
Autoliv	$10.61 billion	0.84	$647.00 million	$9.68	12.12

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

Summary

Autoliv beats Wabash National on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Wabash National

Wabash National Corporation provides connected solutions for the transportation, logistics, and distribution industries primarily in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Transportation Solutions and Parts & Services. The Transportation Solutions segment designs and manufactures transportation-related equipment and products dry and refrigerated van trailers, platform trailers, tank trailers, and truck-mounted tanks; truck bodies for dry-freight transportation; cargo and cargo XL bodies for commercial applications; refrigerated truck bodies; platform truck bodies; and used trailers, as well as laminated hardwood oak flooring products. The Parts & Services segment provides aftermarket parts and services; steel flatbed bodies, truck body mounting, shelving for package delivery, partitions, roof racks, hitches, liftgates, thermal solutions, and others; truck body repair parts; and door repair and replacement, collision repair, and basic maintenance services. It also develops and scales a digital marketplace for the transportation and logistics distribution industry; operates a parts and services distribution platform; and stainless steel storage tanks and silos, mixers, and processors for the dairy, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, craft brewing, and biotech markets; trailers as a service; and composite products, including truck bodies, overhead doors, and other industrial application products, as well as used trailers. The company offers its products under the Wabash, DuraPlate, DuraPlateHD, DuraPlate AeroSkirt, and AeroSkirt CX brands, as well as EcoNex brand. It serves its products to truckload common carriers, leasing companies, private fleet carriers, less-than-truckload common carriers, and package carriers. Wabash National Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana.

About Autoliv

Autoliv, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and supplies passive safety systems to the automotive industry in Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, and rest of Asia. It offers passive safety systems, including modules and components for frontal-impact airbag protection systems, side-impact airbag protection systems, seatbelts, steering wheels, and inflator technologies. The company also provides mobility safety solutions, such as pedestrian protection, battery cut-off switches, connected safety services, and safety solutions for riders of powered two wheelers. It primarily serves car manufacturers. Autoliv, Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.