Hexcel (NYSE:HXL – Get Free Report) and Park Aerospace (NYSE:PKE – Get Free Report) are both aerospace companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Dividends
Hexcel pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Park Aerospace pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Hexcel pays out 80.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Park Aerospace pays out 138.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Hexcel has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Hexcel and Park Aerospace, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Hexcel | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2.08 |
| Park Aerospace | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Volatility & Risk
Hexcel has a beta of 1.35, suggesting that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Park Aerospace has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Hexcel and Park Aerospace”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Hexcel | $1.88 billion | 3.08 | $132.10 million | $0.85 | 85.32 |
| Park Aerospace | $63.13 million | 5.99 | $5.88 million | $0.36 | 52.78 |
Hexcel has higher revenue and earnings than Park Aerospace. Park Aerospace is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hexcel, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Hexcel and Park Aerospace’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Hexcel | 3.67% | 9.25% | 5.15% |
| Park Aerospace | 11.57% | 7.97% | 7.01% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
95.5% of Hexcel shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.8% of Park Aerospace shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Hexcel shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.3% of Park Aerospace shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Hexcel beats Park Aerospace on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Hexcel
Hexcel Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets carbon fibers, structural reinforcements, honeycomb structures, resins, and composite materials and parts for use in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial applications. It operates through two segments, Composite Materials and Engineered Products. The Composite Materials segment manufactures and markets fabrics, multi-axials, specialty reinforcements, prepregs and other fiber-reinforced matrix materials, structural adhesives, molding compounds, tooling materials, polyurethane systems, and laminates that are used in military and commercial aircraft, wind turbine blades, recreational products, and other industrial applications, as well as in automotive, marine, and rail transportation. The Engineered Products segment manufactures and markets aircraft structures and finished aircraft components, including wing to body fairings, wing panels, flight deck panels, door liners, rotorcraft blades, spars, and tip caps; and aircraft structural sub-components and semi-finished components used in rotorcraft blades, engine nacelles, and aircraft surfaces, such as flaps, wings, elevators, and fairings; and RF interference control products for military and aerospace applications. This segment also provides interference control materials, structural composites, and services; dielectric absorber foams; magnetic absorbers; and thermoplastics for commercial and defense applications. The company sells its products directly through its managers, product managers, and sales personnel, as well as through independent distributors in the Americas, Europe, the Asia Pacific, India, and Africa. Hexcel Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.
About Park Aerospace
Park Aerospace Corp., an aerospace company, develops and manufactures solution and hot-melt advanced composite materials used to produce composite structures for the aerospace market in North America, Asia, and Europe. It offers advanced composite materials, including film adhesives and lightning strike protection materials that are used to produce primary and secondary structures for jet engines, large and regional transport aircrafts, military aircrafts, unmanned aerial vehicles, business jets, general aviation aircrafts, and rotary wing aircrafts. The company also provides specialty ablative materials for rocket motors and nozzles; and specially designed materials for radome applications. In addition, it designs and fabricates composite parts, structures and assemblies, and low volume tooling for the aerospace industry. The company was formerly known as Park Electrochemical Corp. and changed its name to Park Aerospace Corp. in July 2019. Park Aerospace Corp. was incorporated in 1954 and is based in Westbury, New York.
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