Financial Analysis: Boeing (NYSE:BA) & GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)

Boeing (NYSE:BA) and GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) are both large-cap aerospace companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Boeing and GE Aerospace, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Boeing	3	3	17	2	2.72
GE Aerospace	0	1	10	0	2.91

Boeing presently has a consensus target price of $215.77, indicating a potential upside of 0.01%. GE Aerospace has a consensus target price of $223.75, indicating a potential downside of 9.33%. Given Boeing’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Boeing is more favorable than GE Aerospace.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Boeing and GE Aerospace”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Boeing	$69.44 billion	2.34	-$11.82 billion	($17.92)	-12.04
GE Aerospace	$39.68 billion	6.63	$6.56 billion	$6.43	38.38

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

Risk and Volatility

Boeing has a beta of 1.41, suggesting that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GE Aerospace has a beta of 1.37, suggesting that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.8% of Boeing shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.8% of GE Aerospace shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Boeing shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of GE Aerospace shares 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.

Dividends

Boeing pays an annual dividend of $8.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. GE Aerospace pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Boeing pays out -45.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. GE Aerospace pays out 22.4% 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. GE Aerospace has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Boeing is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Boeing and GE Aerospace’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Boeing	-16.58%	N/A	-8.57%
GE Aerospace	17.63%	29.15%	4.51%

Summary

GE Aerospace beats Boeing on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Boeing

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments. The Commercial Airplanes segment develops, produces, and markets commercial jet aircraft for passenger and cargo requirements, as well as provides fleet support services. The Defense, Space & Security segment engages in the research, development, production, and modification of manned and unmanned military aircraft and weapons systems; strategic defense and intelligence systems, which include strategic missile and defense systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyber and information solutions, and intelligence systems; and satellite systems, such as government and commercial satellites, and space exploration. The Global Services segment offers products and services, including supply chain and logistics management, engineering, maintenance and modifications, upgrades and conversions, spare parts, pilot and maintenance training systems and services, technical and maintenance documents, and data analytics and digital services to commercial and defense customers. The Boeing Company was incorporated in 1916 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.

About GE Aerospace

GE Aerospace (also known as General Electric) is a company that specializes in providing aerospace products and services. It operates through two reportable segments: Commercial Engines and Services and Defense and Propulsion Technologies. It offers jet and turboprop engines, as well as integrated systems for commercial, military, business, and general aviation aircraft. GE demerged into GE Vernova, GE Aerospace, and GE Healthcare.