Comparing Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) & Safran (OTCMKTS:SAFRY)

Safran (OTCMKTS:SAFRY) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) are both large-cap aerospace companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Safran and Huntington Ingalls Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Safran	0	4	2	2	2.75
Huntington Ingalls Industries	0	7	4	0	2.36

Huntington Ingalls Industries has a consensus target price of $381.50, suggesting a potential upside of 31.23%. Given Huntington Ingalls Industries’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Huntington Ingalls Industries is more favorable than Safran.

Volatility and Risk

Safran has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Huntington Ingalls Industries has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Safran pays an annual dividend of $0.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Huntington Ingalls Industries pays an annual dividend of $5.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Huntington Ingalls Industries pays out 35.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Huntington Ingalls Industries has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Huntington Ingalls Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Safran shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.5% of Huntington Ingalls Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Huntington Ingalls Industries shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Safran and Huntington Ingalls Industries”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Safran	$35.81 billion	4.72	$8.12 billion	N/A	N/A
Huntington Ingalls Industries	$12.48 billion	0.92	$605.00 million	$15.37	18.91

Safran has higher revenue and earnings than Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Profitability

This table compares Safran and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Safran	N/A	N/A	N/A
Huntington Ingalls Industries	4.71%	12.05%	4.87%

Summary

Huntington Ingalls Industries beats Safran on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Safran

Safran SA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the aerospace and defense businesses worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Aerospace Propulsion; Aircraft Equipment, Defense and Aerosystems; and Aircraft Interiors. The Aerospace Propulsion segment designs, develops, produces, and markets propulsion and mechanical power transmission systems for commercial aircraft, military transport, training and combat aircraft, civil and military helicopters, satellites, and drones; and offers maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services, as well as sells spare parts. The Aircraft Equipment, Defense and Aerosystems segment provides landing gears and brakes; nacelles and reversers; avionics, such as flight controls and onboard information systems; security systems, including evacuation slides and oxygen masks; onboard computers and fuel systems; electrical power management systems and related engineering services; and optronic equipment and sights, navigation equipment and sensors, infantry, and drones, as well as offers MRO services and sells spare parts. The Aircraft Interiors segment designs, develops, manufactures, and markets aircraft seats for passengers and crew; cabin equipment, overhead bins, class dividers, passenger service units, cabin interior solutions, chilling systems, galleys, electrical inserts, and trolleys and cargo equipment; and cabin and passenger solutions, such as water distribution equipment, lavatories, air systems, and in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems. Its products and services are used in civil and military aircraft, and helicopters. Safran SA was founded in 1896 and is based in Paris, France.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. designs, builds, overhauls, and repairs military ships in the United States. It operates through three segments: Ingalls, Newport News, and Mission Technologies. The company is involved in the design and construction of non-nuclear ships comprising amphibious assault ships; expeditionary warfare ships; surface combatants; and national security cutters for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. It also provides nuclear-powered ships, such as aircraft carriers and submarines, as well as refueling and overhaul, and inactivation services of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. In addition, the company offers naval nuclear support services, including fleet services comprising design, construction, maintenance, and disposal activities for in-service the U.S. Navy nuclear ships; and maintenance services on nuclear reactor prototypes. Further, the company provides C5ISR systems and operations; application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to battlefield decisions; defensive and offensive cyberspace strategies and electronic warfare; live, virtual, and constructive solutions; unmanned, autonomous systems; and fleet sustainment; and critical nuclear operations. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Newport News, Virginia.