Financial Contrast: Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI) vs. PHINIA (NYSE:PHIN)

Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI) and PHINIA (NYSE:PHIN) are both mid-cap auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Hesai Group and PHINIA, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hesai Group	0	0	5	1	3.17
PHINIA	0	3	3	1	2.71

Hesai Group currently has a consensus price target of $28.74, suggesting a potential upside of 23.56%. PHINIA has a consensus price target of $53.1667, suggesting a potential downside of 8.86%. Given Hesai Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Hesai Group is more favorable than PHINIA.

Profitability

This table compares Hesai Group and PHINIA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hesai Group	4.00%	3.11%	2.14%
PHINIA	3.22%	10.74%	4.48%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

48.5% of Hesai Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.9% of PHINIA shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of PHINIA 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.

Volatility & Risk

Hesai Group has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PHINIA has a beta of 1.51, meaning that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Hesai Group and PHINIA”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hesai Group	$284.57 million	10.72	-$14.02 million	$0.09	258.44
PHINIA	$3.40 billion	0.67	$79.00 million	$2.59	22.52

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

Summary

PHINIA beats Hesai Group on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hesai Group

Hesai Group, through with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of three-dimensional light detection and ranging solutions (LiDAR). Its LiDAR products are used in passenger and commercial vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems; autonomous passenger and freight mobility services; and other applications, such as delivery robots, street sweeping robots, and logistics robots in restricted areas. Hesai Group was founded in 2014 and is based in Shanghai, China.

About PHINIA

PHINIA Inc. engages in the development, design, and manufacture of integrated components and systems that optimize performance, increase efficiency, and reduce emissions in combustion and hybrid propulsion for commercial and light vehicles, and industrial applications. The company operates through Fuel Systems and Aftermarket segments. The Fuel Systems segment provides advanced fuel injection systems, including pumps, injectors, fuel rail assemblies, and engine control modules; fuel delivery modules; canisters; sensors; and electronic control modules. The segment also offers complete systems comprising associated software and calibration services, that reduce emissions and improve fuel economy for traditional and hybrid applications. The Aftermarket segment is involved in the sale of starters, alternators, and other new and remanufactured products, as well as maintenance, test equipment, and vehicle diagnostics solutions. It servs original equipment manufacturers of passenger cars, trucks, vans, sport-utility vehicles, medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, and buses, as well as other off-highway construction, marine, and agricultural and industrial applications. PHINIA Inc. was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan.