Critical Comparison: Bridgestone (OTCMKTS:BRDCY) & Mazda Motor (OTCMKTS:MZDAY)

Bridgestone (OTCMKTS:BRDCY) and Mazda Motor (OTCMKTS:MZDAY) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Bridgestone and Mazda Motor, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bridgestone	1	0	0	1	2.50
Mazda Motor	1	2	1	0	2.00

Profitability

This table compares Bridgestone and Mazda Motor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bridgestone	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mazda Motor	0.63%	4.62%	2.05%

Volatility & Risk

Bridgestone has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mazda Motor has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bridgestone and Mazda Motor”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bridgestone	$29.30 billion	1.09	$1.88 billion	$0.68	16.40
Mazda Motor	$32.96 billion	0.15	$752.92 million	$0.16	24.16

Bridgestone has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Mazda Motor. Bridgestone is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mazda Motor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Bridgestone pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Mazda Motor pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Bridgestone pays out 35.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mazda Motor pays out 68.8% 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.

About Bridgestone

Bridgestone Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells tires and rubber products. The company offers tires and tire tubes for passenger cars, trucks, buses, construction and off-road mining vehicles, industrial and agricultural machinery, aircraft, motorcycles, scooters, and other vehicles; automotive parts; automotive maintenance and repair services; and raw materials for tires and other products. It also provides chemical products, such as belts, hoses, rubber crawlers/MT pads, resin piping systems, seismic isolation rubbers, bridge rubber bearings, and block type rubber covered chain type bridge fall prevention devices. In addition, the company offers golf balls, golf clubs, and other sporting goods; bicycles, bicycle-related goods, and others; and finance and other services. It has operations in Japan, the Americas, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, India, Africa, China, Asia, Oceania, Oceania, and internationally. The company was incorporated in 1931 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Mazda Motor

Mazda Motor Corporation engages in the manufacture and sale of passenger cars and commercial vehicles in Japan, China, North America, Europe, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Mazda Motor Corporation in May 1984. Mazda Motor Corporation was incorporated in 1920 and is headquartered in Hiroshima, Japan.