Financial Analysis: AutoCanada (AOCIF) and The Competition

AutoCanada (OTCMKTS:AOCIF) is one of 286 publicly-traded companies in the “Specialty Retail” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare AutoCanada to similar businesses based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

44.8% of AutoCanada shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by institutional investors. 21.1% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for AutoCanada and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AutoCanada	0	2	2	0	2.50
AutoCanada Competitors	3539	15217	21167	547	2.46

As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies have a potential upside of 9.01%. Given AutoCanada’s rivals higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AutoCanada has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Profitability

This table compares AutoCanada and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AutoCanada	N/A	N/A	N/A
AutoCanada Competitors	-2.67%	-25.41%	2.94%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AutoCanada and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
AutoCanada	N/A	N/A	6.91
AutoCanada Competitors	$6.97 billion	$387.72 million	14.11

AutoCanada’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than AutoCanada. AutoCanada is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

AutoCanada pays an annual dividend of $1.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.4%. AutoCanada pays out 51.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.9% and pay out 35.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

AutoCanada rivals beat AutoCanada on 9 of the 13 factors compared.

AutoCanada Company Profile

AutoCanada Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates franchised automobile dealerships and related business. The company offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles, vehicle leasing, vehicle parts, vehicle maintenance and collision repair services, and extended service contracts; and vehicle protection, after-market products, and auction services. It also arranges financing and insurance for vehicle purchases by its customers through third-party finance and insurance sources. The company sells its vehicles under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Audi, Volkswagen, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Ford, Acura, Honda, Kia, and Porsche brands. It operates franchised dealerships in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick in Canada, as well as in Illinois, the United States. The company also offers used vehicles online. AutoCanada Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Edmonton, Canada.