Reviewing Redwire (NYSE:RDW) & Butler National (OTCMKTS:BUKS)

Butler National (OTCMKTS:BUKS) and Redwire (NYSE:RDW) are both small-cap aerospace companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

Butler National has a beta of 0.19, indicating that its share price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Redwire has a beta of 2.5, indicating that its share price is 150% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Butler National and Redwire, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Butler National	0	0	0	0	0.00
Redwire	2	2	8	0	2.50

Redwire has a consensus target price of $13.89, suggesting a potential upside of 45.21%. Given Redwire’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Redwire is more favorable than Butler National.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.0% of Butler National shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.1% of Redwire shares are held by institutional investors. 17.6% of Butler National shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Redwire shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Butler National and Redwire”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Butler National	$83.97 million	3.66	$12.55 million	$0.30	12.80
Redwire	$335.38 million	4.71	-$226.55 million	($2.37)	-4.04

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

Profitability

This table compares Butler National and Redwire’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Butler National	21.45%	28.47%	15.08%
Redwire	-67.55%	-13.04%	-7.82%

About Butler National

Butler National Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, manufactures, sells, integrates, installs, repairs, modifies, overhauls, services, and distributes a portfolio of aerostructures, aircraft components, avionics, accessories, subassemblies, and systems in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Aerospace Products and Professional Services. The Aerospace Products segment provides aircraft modifications to business-size aircraft, which include passenger-to-freighter configuration, radar systems, addition of aerial photography capabilities, search and rescue, environmental research, mapping, intelligence surveillance reconnaissance modifications, and stability enhancing modifications for Learjet, Beechcraft, and Cessna aircraft along with other specialized modifications. This segment manufactures, sells, and services electronics for weapon control systems that are used on government aircraft and vehicles; and sells, installs, and repairs aircraft avionics equipment, including airplane radio equipment and flight control systems, as well as troubleshoots and repairs autopilot systems. Its Professional Services segment manages Boot Hill Casino and Resort, a gaming, dining, and entertainment facility in Dodge City, Kansas. The company acquires, refurbishes, and sells airplanes, primarily Learjets; owns properties; and operates a management consulting and administrative services firm that provides business planning and financial coordination to Indian tribes interested in owning and operating casinos. It serves the aviation industry, including owners and operators of private and commercial business and government aircraft and suppliers. Butler National Corporation was incorporated in 1960 and is headquartered in New Century, Kansas.

About Redwire

Redwire Corporation provides critical space solutions and space infrastructure for government and commercial customers in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides avionics and sensors including star trackers, sun sensors, critical for navigation, and control of spacecraft; camera systems; solar array solutions for spacecraft spanning the spectrum of size, power needs, and orbital location; and strain composite booms, coilable booms, truss structures, telescope baffles, and deployable booms to position sensors or solar arrays away from the spacecraft. It offers software suite that enables digital engineering and generation of high-fidelity, interactive modeling and simulations of individual components, entire spacecraft, and full constellations in a cloud-based environment. In addition, the company microgravity payloads, radio frequency systems, antennas, star trackers, platforms, and in-space manufacturing and biotech facilities. Redwire Corporation is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.