Head-To-Head Analysis: AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) vs. FTAI Aviation (NASDAQ:FTAI)

FTAI Aviation (NASDAQ:FTAI) and AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares FTAI Aviation and AeroVironment”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FTAI Aviation	$2.51 billion	7.17	$501.06 million	$4.60	38.06
AeroVironment	$1.98 billion	3.91	-$265.12 million	($2.34)	-64.98

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for FTAI Aviation and AeroVironment, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FTAI Aviation	0	2	9	0	2.82
AeroVironment	1	3	18	2	2.88

FTAI Aviation presently has a consensus target price of $315.67, indicating a potential upside of 80.32%. AeroVironment has a consensus target price of $238.89, indicating a potential upside of 57.12%. Given FTAI Aviation’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe FTAI Aviation is more favorable than AeroVironment.

Profitability

This table compares FTAI Aviation and AeroVironment’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FTAI Aviation	15.94%	139.59%	11.26%
AeroVironment	-5.77%	4.04%	3.13%

Risk and Volatility

FTAI Aviation has a beta of 1.51, indicating that its stock price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AeroVironment has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.0% of FTAI Aviation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of AeroVironment shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of FTAI Aviation shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of AeroVironment shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

FTAI Aviation beats AeroVironment on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FTAI Aviation

FTAI Aviation Ltd. owns and acquires aviation and offshore energy equipment for the transportation of goods and people worldwide. It operates through two segments, Aviation Leasing and Aerospace Products. The Aviation Leasing segment owns and manages aviation assets, including aircraft and aircraft engines, which it leases and sells to customers. As of December 31, 2023, this segment owned and managed 363 aviation assets consisting of 96 commercial aircraft and 267 engines, including eight aircraft and seventeen engines that were located in Russia. The Aerospace Products segment develops, manufactures, repairs, and sells aircraft engines and aftermarket components for aircraft engines. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About AeroVironment

AeroVironment, Inc. designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments. The company supplies UAS, TMS, unmanned ground vehicle, and related services primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and to international allied governments. It also designs, engineers, tools, and manufactures unmanned aerial and aircraft systems, including airborne platforms, payloads and payload integration, ground control systems, and ground support equipment and other items and services related to unmanned aircraft systems. In addition, the company offers small UAS products, including training, spare parts, product repair, product replacement, and the customer contracted operation. Further, it develops high-altitude pseudo-satellite UAS systems. AeroVironment, Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.