Head to Head Review: Westport Fuel Systems (NASDAQ:WPRT) and Stanley Electric (OTCMKTS:STAEF)

Stanley Electric (OTCMKTS:STAEF) and Westport Fuel Systems (NASDAQ:WPRT) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Stanley Electric and Westport Fuel Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stanley Electric	0	0	0	0	N/A
Westport Fuel Systems	0	3	2	0	2.40

Westport Fuel Systems has a consensus price target of $15.10, suggesting a potential upside of 144.73%. Given Westport Fuel Systems’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Westport Fuel Systems is more favorable than Stanley Electric.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Stanley Electric and Westport Fuel Systems’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stanley Electric	N/A	N/A	N/A	$145.93	0.13
Westport Fuel Systems	$331.80 million	0.32	-$49.72 million	($2.86)	-2.16

Stanley Electric has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Westport Fuel Systems. Westport Fuel Systems is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stanley Electric, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

20.7% of Stanley Electric shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.3% of Westport Fuel Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Westport Fuel Systems shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Stanley Electric and Westport Fuel Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stanley Electric	N/A	N/A	N/A
Westport Fuel Systems	-14.97%	-26.18%	-12.57%

About Stanley Electric

Stanley Electric Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, manufacture, sells, and import/export of automotive and other light bulbs in Japan and internationally. It offers automotive equipment, such as LED and headlamps; rear combination, turn signal, tail, stop, and fog lamps; sensors; automotive LED and light bulbs; electronic products; audio/air-conditioner panels; auto-leveling units; and other accessories and devices. The company provides electronic components, including ultraviolet (UV), visible light, and infrared LEDs; and optical sensors, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, and UV cold cathode lamps, etc. In addition, it offers applied electronic products, such as LED lighting; operating panels; backlighting units for LCDs; flash units for smartphones, digital cameras, and medical health and industrial equipment; and sensors, etc. Further, the company offers measuring instruments, medical equipment, and other equipment, as well as develops and sells software. Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Westport Fuel Systems

Westport Fuel Systems Inc. engages in the engineering, manufacturing, and supplying alternative fuel systems and components for use in transportation applications in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Original Equipment Manufacturers and Independent Aftermarket. It offers alternative fuel systems and components, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), renewable natural gas or biomethane, and hydrogen; and pressure regulators, injectors, electronic control units, valves and filters, complete bi-fuel, mono-fuel and dual-fuel LPG and natural gas conversion kits and high-pressure hydrogen components. The company provides Westport's LNG high pressure direct injection 2.0 fuel system and bi-fuel products; offers turnkey solutions covering all process phases, including prototyping, development, calibration, validation, homologation, vehicle conversion and logistic services, as well as systems for diesel-powered vehicles; and supplies hydrogen fuel system components for light, medium, and heavy-duty applications. It offers its products under the AFS, BRC, Emer, GFI, HPDI, Stako, Prins, Zavoli, OMVL, TA Gas Technology, Vialle, and Valtek brands. The company was formerly known as Westport Innovations Inc. and changed its name to Westport Fuel Systems Inc. in June 2016. Westport Fuel Systems Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.